Spanish Dancer? from Italy

October 11, 2001
From: Sergio Nardini

Dear friends,
i'm writing from Rome, Italy. Please, find the attached ... is a photo of a spanish dancer, I think, i have taken in the Mediterranean sea. Exactly in Santa Marinella, Lazio, about 50 km from Rome. Depth about 20 mt, night dive... I can't find any kind of nudibranco like this one. Can you tell me something about?
Thanks for your reply,
Best regards, ciao.

Sergio Nardini
Roma

sergio.nardini@aruba.it

Nardini, S., 2001 (Oct 11) Spanish Dancer? from Italy. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5443

Dear Sergio,
Although it certainly looks spectacular enough to be the Spanish Dancer, Hexabranchus sanguineus it is in fact a polyclad flatworm, a group which are often mistaken for nudibranchs. Have a look at the other photos of flatworms on this page. It will give you some idea of the variation to be found.

Although it is not a nudibranch, I think I recognise your flatworm as Pseudoceros ferrugineus Hyman, 1959. If I am correct then it is a long way from home because that species is only known from the tropical Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean. Perhaps you have an invader from the Pacific in your waters. You might like to send your photo to Wolfgang Seifarth at his "Marine Flatworms of the World" Site [at http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~bu6/index.html].

I would be interested in photos you have of nudibranchs you see on your dives. It would be nice to have some nudibranchs from Rome on the Forum.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Oct 11). Comment on Spanish Dancer? from Italy by Sergio Nardini. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5443

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