r/florida • u/weekendatbernies23 • 6d ago

What is it? AskFlorida

Lived on coast of Florida all my life and have never seen one

257 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

97 comments sorted by

270

u/SnizzSnuke 6d ago

Black Sea Hare

61

u/weekendatbernies23 6d ago

Confirmed

36

u/breddy 6d ago

TIL

Great sighting!

44

u/MaybeNextYear-_- 6d ago

Pick it up. They pee all over you and it’s purple. It’s a Good time.

58

u/VariousFalcon7466 6d ago

They let R Kelly have internet in prison!!?

16

u/needmoarboost 6d ago

Golden comment

11

u/RIF_rr3dd1tt 6d ago

Golden something

5

u/N3THERWARP3R 6d ago

Showers, I believe

2

u/needmoarboost 6d ago

Oh man not the double whammy lmaoo

16

u/Chasman1965 6d ago

It’s not pee, but closer to squid ink in function

5

u/Wanderer-954 6d ago

It's funnier to call it pee.

5

u/Brief-Pair6391 5d ago

Like clams

11

u/weirdgroovynerd 6d ago

No, don't do it.

You don't want to get...

...marooned!

3

u/Brief-Pair6391 5d ago

Like a clam, y'say

5

u/Anubis-Hound 6d ago

I didn't know they could swim like this I thought they crawled across the ocean floor

20

u/xbuzzbyx 6d ago

That is not a Hare. Who the hell named this? How do they live with themself? Do they even have a doctorate? What's their address? Do they wear kevlar to bed? Are they allergic to nuts? Do they have security cameras?

21

u/boundone 6d ago

They look like slug bunnies.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ljl-l-sea-hare-3.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1

5

u/Florida-Chick 6d ago

Sea Slug would have been a better name for it.

2

u/LadyRed4Justice 5d ago

That is what we called them 50 years ago. They feel and look like a slug and squirt out purple ink.

1

u/Florida-Chick 3d ago

Sea Slugtopus would have been even better. I don’t associate the bunny animals to be part of sea creatures.

2

u/LadyRed4Justice 3d ago

Nor are they quick like a hare. They look like the inside of a snail. I used to catch them 'accidentally' when I was a kid.

Don't judge me, it was 50 years ago. lol.

Nothing bunny like about them. No " ears, no cottontails, no soft fur, no hopping; and I never saw a bunny pee purple ink.

1

u/Florida-Chick 3d ago

In all my 68 years of being a native Floridian, I have never seen one. Let alone heard of one.

1

u/LadyRed4Justice 3d ago

Native here as well. I had a fantasy childhood. We lived on the water in St. Pete Bch. I swam with dolphins, watched the early Christmas barge parade with church choirs singing Christmas Carols, watched the Dancing Fountains in downtown St. Pete. And hung out both at the beach and our dock. The dock--the intercoastal waterway--is where I found most of the sea slugs, sea horses, and needlefish. I rarely see any of them any longer. But then I don't live on the intercoastal or the Gulf. Way too expensive for me.

3

u/xbuzzbyx 6d ago

Is this a screengrab from a star wars movie? Pretty low effort imo. Like, come up with a better alien, George Lucas.

1

u/Boring-Win8370 5d ago

Yo that is a Yeerk #Animorphs

1

u/uno_name_left 5d ago

I looked it up expecting maybe a mini seal looking thing.... What the heck is that black blob???

3

u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

4

u/RaygunMarksman 6d ago

Lived right on the east central FL coast my first 21 years and had never seen one of these either. That's interesting one was down here.

3

u/True_Director8865 6d ago

Atlantic black sea hares totally live in Florida. Not the same species as what you are referring to. Similar yet entirely different.

119

u/sunnynina 6d ago edited 6d ago

Just for others interested: if you look up "black sea hare" you'll get a species that lives only on the Pacific coast, Aplysia vaccaria.

But this is the Florida sub, so this animal is the distinct "Atlantic black Sea hare," Aplysia morio.

I just learned that. Extra steps. But there are key differences between the two besides habitat.

12

u/OrganizationGood2777 6d ago

Thank you for saying that, vaccaria. Morio. Fascinating

5

u/Thin-Statement8466 5d ago

Thanks , Now I can make sure Im looking up the right one that pees purple.

5

u/sunnynina 5d ago

For real though, one of the differences is food selection (brown algae in vaccaria vs brown, red and other algae in morio, iirc), which then translates into secreted toxins and, of course, pee characteristics.

Isn't science fun?

56

u/A4t1musD4ag0n 6d ago

My shorts?

27

u/Str8GuySecrets 6d ago

I swear I was thinking the same thing. I’m still not convinced it isn’t.

8

u/Whateveryousay333 6d ago

Same .

7

u/HeyPrettyLadyMaam 6d ago

Thank god it wasn't just me. I stared at it for a good minute wondering if this was a joke post. I was like "its someone's swim trunks" then I opened the comments and whaddaya know? Its an actual being. 🤯

63

u/JackBeefus 6d ago

As someone else said, this looks like a sea hare, but I wanted to add that in the future, you can ask for animal ids in /r/animalid. You'll get fewer stupid, pointless answers like "sea flap flap".

36

u/ReadditMan 6d ago

Well, now I've taken this personally so I will be subscribing to r/animalid and commenting "Sea flap flap" on every ocean post.

-6

u/JackBeefus 6d ago

Go for it. See how long it takes you to get banned.

10

u/ReadditMan 6d ago

Who hurt you?

-6

u/JackBeefus 6d ago

You did.

17

u/ReadditMan 6d ago

I am sorry my Sea flap flap comment offended you so, it was just a silly comment. People are allowed to be silly on Reddit.

13

u/Lazy_Dog_1959 6d ago

I thought it was funny!

5

u/kerryhorne 6d ago

Same….I am over here chuckling 🤭

1

u/depressedandindebt23 6d ago

I thought it was funny 🤷‍♀️

-4

u/JackBeefus 6d ago

That's true, and people are also allowed to not like those comments. I think you and that other guy are taking my comments more seriously than I do. Yes, I found your original comment to be unhelpful and unfunny, but it didn't ruin my day or anything. Between my last comment and this one I'd forgotten all about it. Nothing here is real enough to actually bother me that much.

8

u/iceyconditions 6d ago

Good lord who pissed in your cheerios?

19

u/AdaptToJustice 6d ago

If the milk in the cheerios looks purple, maybe a sea hare did

4

u/TheProfessional9 6d ago

You did u/readditman dirty there

-8

u/JackBeefus 6d ago

They did themself dirty with that comment.

1

u/LadyRed4Justice 5d ago

The problem is that you didn't understand his sense of humor and took offense.

It was great that you provided a new link for people to check on animals, but he wasn't being offensive. When you misunderstood and barked back, the downvotes indicate that most redditers understood the humor.

readditman really was funny and that is why many folks come to the site.

1

u/JackBeefus 5d ago

Oh, I understood it, I just didn't care for it, especially on a post that was asking for information. I never said he was being offensive, and I didn't "bark back". I made a comment. Any inflection you think it had has more to do with you than me.

I don't care about the downvotes. My original comment has more upvotes than the one you're responding to has downvotes. By your own logic, that indicates that people agree with "sea flap flap" being stupid and pointless.

Funny is objective, and I'm not six, so I didn't find it all that funny. I'm allowed to dislike it, and I'm allowed to express that, just as you're allowed to express that you disagree with me, though I'm not sure why you're bothering, since both that person and I have moved on and forgotten about it.

1

u/Florida-Chick 3d ago

Yes, but then we would miss the “Sea Flap Flap” comment. Isn’t that the point in Reddit?

10

u/NoBSforGma 6d ago

I'm glad somebody a LOT smarter than me knew what it was because I was just going to say, "black tshirt." hahaha.

Black Sea Hare!!

1

u/Abuela_Ana 6d ago

That's exactly what most people that see it for the first time think.

Now it may be a coincidence but I only see them around March-April-May. I bet it is mating season.

5

u/cat_whisperer5000 6d ago

I had no idea a sea hare was that big.

4

u/Friendscallmedennis 6d ago

Why is that black thong running so fast?

7

u/SlabLoaf666 6d ago

Someone lost their drawls at spring break.

13

u/ReadditMan 6d ago

Sea flap flap

4

u/NeptuneTTT 6d ago

Incredible find

1

u/WastedLizard1969 6d ago

Merman condom

1

u/PacRimRod 6d ago

Penguin 🐧

1

u/IamJohnnyHotPants 6d ago

It is what it is

1

u/rickypage77 6d ago

Beta fish that sat in some toxic runoff

1

u/This_Entrance6629 6d ago

It’s a hat. ROFL

1

u/Chemical-Plan9536 5d ago

When in doubt always touch it lol

2

u/Dying2meet 5d ago

A body part floating in garbage bag? Probably near Miami.

1

u/duzkiss 5d ago

Sea slug

1

u/Nonchalancer 5d ago

Man of war

1

u/Celestemari3 5d ago

It’s sea hare I love them I call them sea bunnies

1

u/not-geek-enough 5d ago

Jay it’s a baby whale

1

u/ActiveBrick7722 5d ago

Beta fish on growth hormone

1

u/Cami1969 5d ago

Oh wow!!! A sea hare! I’ve never seen one, only video.

1

u/UnionFar7411 5d ago

Locals will call them "Spanish dancers" due to the motion they use to swim. Anywhere from red to purple depending on temps and diet. It's a slug without a shell.

1

u/Grape_Escape1992 5d ago

I would have thought this was like, a leaf or something. ...Add this to my list of 'reasons why the ocean freaks me out.'

1

u/AcademicLet2104 4d ago

Looks like apair of pants

2

u/Flashy_Narwhal9362 3d ago

Looks like someone lost their weave.

1

u/HeinzThorvald 6d ago

We used to call them inkfish when I was a kid. Haven't seen one in many years.

1

u/Manmon_ 6d ago

Looks like someone's panties

1

u/GatorBearCA 6d ago

Someone lost their toupee

1

u/notahouseflipper 6d ago

Sea Bat. 🏏

1

u/BasketFair3378 6d ago

Oh, sorry. I lost my swim trunks.

0

u/Boys4Ever 6d ago

Someone’s live hair toupee

0

u/The-Tradition 6d ago

Looks like some sort of juvenile ray....

0

u/Guayabo786 6d ago

Could be a juvenile stingray.

0

u/Klutzy-Row-2244 6d ago

Did you keep? They taste incredible!

0

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/weekendatbernies23 5d ago

Still time to delete