Petalifera petalifera (Rang, 1828)
Caribbean, Canarias, Mediterranean, Red Sea, Australia… Grazer on seagrass in the infralittoral.
Original taxon: Aplysia petalifera.
Synonyms: depressa, ungulifera…
The animal can reach a size of 4cm; colour green to brown, according to the plant the animal lives on.
 
Above: damaged shell collected at 10-12m deep, Vignola Bay, Marina di Davia, Corbara, NW. Corsica. 1,7mm.
Original pictures provided by S. Clanzig (FR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –
The animal in S. Rang: Histoire naturelle des Aplysiens,
Paris 1828, plate V fig.1.

« …mantle plain and greenish; dorsal aperture very small and a little to the right of the median line […] Shell thin, inferiorly covered with a fairly consistent, very broad and concave epidermis; the head is very small and slightly curved towards the notch […] This species […] is distinguished by its beautiful green color and smooth skin and so thin that the whiteness of its shell is noticeable through its transparency […] It comes from the seas of Nice, from where she was sent to the Museum of Natural History by Mr. Risso. » op. cit. p.52.
Above and below: calanque de Saména, Montredon, south of Marseille, Provence, S. France. Animal wrapped around a leaf. Original pictures provided by slebris for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC) –
Animal extended.

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