Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Subkingdom Eumetazoa > Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > Subclass Orthogastropoda > Subclass Heterobranchia > Infraclass Euthyneura > Subterclass Tectipleura > Order Aplysiida > Superfamily Aplysioidea > Family Aplysiidae > Genus Bursatella

Bursatella leachii Blainville, 1817

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Bursatella*	Blainville, 1817	accepted genus name

Species group names

*Bursatella leachi*		synonym
*Bursatella leachii guineensis*	Bebbington, 1969	synonym
*Bursatella leachii savigniana*	Audouin, 1826	synonym
*Bursatella savigniana*	Audouin, 1826	synonym

Vernaculars (+) (-)

English: blue-spotted sea hare; hairy sea hare; ragged sea hare; shaggy sea hare; Tropical Shaggy Sea Hare sources: Cole, T. C. H. (2017). Wörterbuch der Wirbellosen / Dictionary of Invertebrates. Latein-Deutsch-English. 2017. Springer Spektrum: Berlin. ISBN 978-3-662-52869-3. XII, 574 pp.;Gosliner, T. et al. (2023). Southern African Sea Slugs. Southern Underwater Research Group Press, 7 Blackwood Drive, Hout Bay 7806, Cape Town, South Africa.

German: Blaupunkt-Seehase; Fädriger Seehase

Literature

original description	Blainville, H. M. D. de. (1817). Bursatella, p. 138, in: Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles (F. Cuvier, ed.), vol. 5, supplément. Levrault, Strasbourg & Le Normant, Paris.
basis of record	Bazzicalupo, E., Crocetta, F., Gosliner, T. M., Berteaux-Lecellier, V., Camacho-García, Y. E., Chandran, B. K. S. & Valdés, Á. (2020). Molecular and morphological systematics of Bursatella leachii de Blainville, 1817 and Stylocheilus striatus Quoy & Gaimard, 1832 reveal cryptic diversity in pantropically distributed taxa (Mollusca : Gastropoda : Heterobranchia). Invertebrate Systematics. 34: 535-568.
additional source	Gosliner, T. et al. (2023). Southern African Sea Slugs. Southern Underwater Research Group Press, 7 Blackwood Drive, Hout Bay 7806, Cape Town, South Africa.
additional source	Gosliner, T. (1987). Nudibranchs of Southern Africa: A Guide to Opisthobranch Molluscs of Southern Africa. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California.
additional source	Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A., A. Marchini, G. Cantone, A. Castelli, C. Chimenz, M. Cormaci, C. Froglia, G. Furnari, M.C. Gambi, G. Giaccone, A. Giangrande, C. Gravil, F. Mastrototaro, C. Mazziotti, L. Orsi-Relini & S. Piraino. (2010). Alien species along the Italian coasts: an overview. Biological Invasions. 13(1): 215-237.
additional source	Nimbs M. J., Willan R. C. & Smith S. D. A. (2017). Is Port Stephens, eastern Australia, a global hotspot for biodiversity of Aplysiidae (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia)?. Molluscan Research. 37(1): 47-65.

Genbank

Citation

MolluscaBase eds. (2025). MolluscaBase. Bursatella leachii Blainville, 1817. Via: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2011) European Register of Marine Species, Accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:138759