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

Factsheet

Hexabranchus sanguineus

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