A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Hexabranchus sanguineus
The Spanish dancer, scientific name Hexabranchus sanguineus (literally meaning "blood-colored six-gills"), is a dorid nudibranch, a very large and colorful sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Hexabranchidae.
This species of very large, strong-swimming nudibranch is one of the largest of all nudibranchs: specimens of well over 40 cm in length have been reported.[3] The species name, sanguineus, refers to its bright red coloration, but a yellow variant also exists. This nudibranch has two very different modes of locomotion: crawling and swimming. When it crawls, the wide edges of the mantle (the parapodia) are rolled up close to the body. When the animal swims however, the red parapodia unfurl, and are whirled through the water in a spectacular undulating motion, propelling the animal forwards. The animal was given the common name "Spanish dancer" because the whirling swimming movement, and the red color of the mantle, are reminiscent of the skirt movements of a flamenco dancer. Video of Spanish Dancer taken back in 2007 in Philippines, to show the swimming Spanish Dancer.
Spotted on Mar 17, 2014
Submitted on Mar 19, 2014
18 Comments
Thanks, @Ava :)
Great pictures and video.
You are most welcome, @Lauren :)
@Fyn, the specimen in this spotting is around 10 inches in size.
The specimen shown in the video is easily 20 inches in size, they probably grow up to 24-25 inches in size!
Great video! How large is it?
Thank you Albert for the video! It is just amazing to watch it dance through the water.
Thanks, @Ashley, @Leuba and @Leana :)
I updated and an old video of a different sighting of Spanish Dancer from Philippines to show it swimming/dancing :D
WOW!
One of my favourites ! Lovely photos and thanks for the information. It must be a delight to see in the water.
This is such an incredible looking creature! It must have been so cool to watch it move :)
Lovely spotting, AlbertKang.
Spanish Dancer is the right name for that gorgeous Nudibranch.
Thanks, @Reza and @Mona :)
Awesome !! :)
Beauty !
Thanks, @Rosa :)
Awesome! Great picture and description of the Spanish Dancer!
Thanks, @Lauren.
Yes, I have taken videos of the Spanish Dancer swimming before, so graceful and elegant :). Was pleasantly surprised to see it in Mozambique, a bit of color variation than the ones I usually see in Philippines.
If you see it again, you ought to take a video of it swimming! :)
Love this one! Would love to see it swimming!