Gills on Hexabranchus sanguineus

December 11, 2003
From: Gary Cobb

Hi Bill!
I just discovered that the gills of Hexabranchus - the Spanish Dancer -retract into individual 'sockets', probably about 8 of them when alarmed. As you can see in the attached photo. I always thought the gills where one whole unit! Is H. sanguineus the only species that has this feature?

The photo attached shows an animal that has a lot of white dots ... more than I have seen before. You beauty!

Length: 60mm
Location: Old Woman Island, Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia
Site: Northwest Reef
Depth: 9m
Daytime

Cheers
Gary Cobb

gary@cobb.com.au

Cobb, G., 2003 (Dec 11) Gills on Hexabranchus sanguineus. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11576

Dear Gary,
Congratulations on discovering its secret. The apparently separate gills is one of the main characters for this genus, and its name Hexabranchus means 'six gills' a reference to the separate gills, the number of which can vary a bit. Have a look at Robert Sozzani's message where I discuss the gills in a photo he has of a juvenile animal
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Dec 11). Comment on Gills on Hexabranchus sanguineus by Gary Cobb. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11576

Related messages

  1. Chromodoris or Hypselodoris?
    From: Franco De Lorenzi, March 26, 2010
  2. Washed up in north-western Australia
    From: Sean Houlihan, February 23, 2010
  3. Hexabranchus sanguineus from sthn Queensland
    From: Gary Cobb, September 25, 2009
  4. Juvenile Hexabranchus sanguineus from Reunion Island
    From: Sully Bachel, May 8, 2009
  5. Hexabranchus sanguineus from Maui, Hawaii
    From: Chris Ryu, February 11, 2008
  6. The secret life on Hexabranchus sanguineus
    From: David Mullins, December 5, 2007
  7. Hexabranchus sanguineus or Djibouti Giant?
    From: Edward Dixon, September 17, 2007
  8. Feeding Hexabranchus sanguineus from Tofo, Mozambique
    From: Natasja Vandeperre, August 24, 2007
  9. Re: Hexabranchus sanguineus video
    From: Diane Hennelly, August 16, 2007
  10. Hexabranchus sanguineus from Mozambique [2]
    From: Natasja Vandeperre, August 11, 2007
  11. Hexabranchus sanguineus from Mozambique [1]
    From: Natasja Vandeperre, August 11, 2007
  12. Spanish Dancer from Sydney
    From: Donald Miles, July 11, 2007
  13. Re: Nudibranch from the Seychelles, Indian Ocean
    From: Jen Jenny, May 4, 2007
  14. Nudibranch from the Seychelles, Indian Ocean
    From: Jen Jenny, April 27, 2007
  15. Hexabranchus sanguineus from Bali
    From: Asther Lau, April 13, 2007
  16. Hexabranchus behaviour
    From: Sandrine Flodrops, December 4, 2006
  17. Juvenile Hexabranchus from nthn New South Wales
    From: Roxanne Fea, November 8, 2006
  18. Re: Dancing 'Spanish Dancer'
    From: Kamal El Tawil, September 1, 2006
  19. Dancing 'Spanish Dancer'
    From: Joseph De Vroe, August 25, 2006
  20. Hexabranchus sanguineus from Indonesia
    From: Kevin Lee, August 7, 2006
  21. Re: Spanish Dancer Research Paper
    From: Molly Ogden, July 29, 2006
  22. Could this be a Spanish Dancer?
    From: Brian Francisco, March 3, 2006
  23. Kissing Hexabranchus sanguineus
    From: Joseph De Vroe, November 8, 2005
  24. Hexabranchus sanguineus with one gill
    From: Joseph De Vroe, November 4, 2005
  25. Mating Hexabranchus sanguineus
    From: R. Grooters & M. Snoek, September 21, 2005
  26. Re: Juvenile Hexabranchus
    From: Colin Ogden, September 3, 2005
  27. Juvenile Hexabranchus strikes again
    From: Colin Ogden, September 2, 2005
  28. Re: Hexabranchus sanguineus from Egypt
    From: Kamal El Tawil, July 11, 2005
  29. Hexabranchus sanguineus from Madagascar
    From: Marco Angelozzi, July 4, 2005
  30. Re: Hexabranchus sanguineus from Egypt
    From: Kamal El Tawil, June 24, 2005
  31. Hexabranchus sanguineus (Spanish dancer) from Egypt
    From: Kamal El Tawil, June 7, 2005
  32. Re: Hexabranchus juvenile from the GBR
    From: Nils Anthes, January 15, 2004
  33. Hexabranchus juvenile from the GBR
    From: Nils Anthes, January 10, 2004
  34. Hexabranchus sanguineus unrolling the mantle
    From: Erwin Koehler, December 16, 2003
  35. Juvenile Hexabranchus
    From: Roberto Sozzani, May 19, 2003
  36. Hexabranchus from Myanmar
    From: Mary Jane Adams, May 2, 2003
  37. Spanish Dancer Research Paper
    From: Molly Ogden, April 29, 2003
  38. Hexabranchus mating photos
    From: Bill Rudman, March 4, 2003
  39. Hexabranchus sanguineus from Lord Howe Island
    From: W.B. Rudman, January 23, 2003
  40. Hexabranchus juvenile from Bali
    From: Danny Van Belle, January 9, 2003
  41. Spanish Dancer - What can we feed it?
    From: Shawn Elston, November 18, 2002
  42. Re: Hexabranchus - its common name
    From: Constantine Mifsud, September 9, 2002
  43. Hexabranchus - its common name
    From: Jason Lewis, September 7, 2002
  44. Size of Hexabranchus
    From: Valeria Safonova, June 22, 2002
  45. Juvenile Hexabranchus sanguineus from Christmas Id
    From: W.B. Rudman, May 10, 2002
  46. Juvenile Hexabranchus sanguineus
    From: Mary Jane Adams, May 9, 2002
  47. Hexabranchus sanguineus from the Red Sea
    From: Marina Poddubetskaia , April 17, 2002
  48. A report on the Spanish Dancer
    From: Student, March 22, 2002
  49. Hexabranchus sanguineus from Bali
    From: Stuart Hutchison, March 21, 2002
  50. Hexabranchus sanguineus - oral tentacles
    From: Stuart Hutchison, March 21, 2002
  51. Are these Spanish Dancers?
    From: Reine, January 27, 2002
  52. Hexabranchus? from South Africa
    From: Allan Connell, December 17, 2001
  53. Spanish Dancer?
    From: Joyce Zwiener, December 14, 2001
  54. Spanish Dancer
    From: Belinda, September 7, 2001
  55. Swimming Hexabranchus from the Red Sea
    From: Luigi Montevecchi, August 28, 2001
  56. Eggs of Hexabranchus sanguineus
    From: Luigi Montevecchi, August 28, 2001
  57. Re: Hexabranchus 'aureomarginatus' in Hawaii
    From: John Hoover, August 3, 2001
  58. Juvenile Hexabranchus from Hawaii
    From: Scott Johnson, July 30, 2001
  59. Hexabranchus 'aureomarginatus' from Hawaii
    From: Scott Johnson, July 30, 2001
  60. Hexabranchus 'pulchellus' from Hawaii
    From: Scott Johnson, July 30, 2001

Show factsheet and all related messages