Back to genus Spanish dancersBack to the galleryAdd a comment
Spanish dancer
Philippines · Indo Pacific - South China Sea
The Spanish Dancer, a very large dorid and the only nudibranch genus capable of sustained free swimming, undulating its unfurled mantle like a flamenco dress, mostly at night. A 2023 revision (Tibiriçá et al.) showed that the name had been used for at least five species, so many Indo-Pacific animals formerly called H. sanguineus may belong to others such as H. lacer. It often hosts the emperor shrimp Periclimenes imperator and lays large red to pink spiral egg ribbons.
Share link: https://seaslugs.org.il/species/hexabranchus-sanguineus-phillipines-indo-pacific-south-china-sea/
Large, flattened crimson to blood-red animal with a broad white mantle border (interrupted at the front) and bands of fine white striations along the back. Six separate branched, non-retractile gills surround the anus. When disturbed it unrolls the mantle, revealing the red and white edge, and swims off.
Hexabranchus lacer (widespread Indo-West Pacific) is very variable, often with red and white blotches; other members of the complex (H. aureomarginatus, H. giganteus, H. sandwichensis) differ in colour pattern and gill details and are best separated by DNA.
Coral reefs, from 1 to about 50 m; active mainly at night.
Sponges (notably Halichondriidae), from which it sequesters defensive macrolides that it also passes into its egg ribbons.
