Talk:Sea hare
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By no means am I an expert on Aplysia, but I doubt the accuracy of this statement:
- When disturbed, a sea hare can release ink from its mantle to provide a "smoke screen" behind which it can escape, either by crawling or by swimming.
Of course the animal inks, but considering the sluggishness of Aplysia, I fail to see how a short-lived smoke screen would give the sea slug adequate time to escape. Nevertheless, I've seen several resources that describe the ink response as a defensive behavior. What's the consensus? --Diberri 21:27, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)
In [1], it's alternatively suggested that the ink is an excretory product of red algae consumption, but the author offers no evidence to support this. --Diberri 21:28, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)
- Could the ink be an irritant? That might make a potential predator lose its appetite... -- ChrisO 21:52, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)
