Mollusca · mollusks

Spanish dancer

Hexabranchus sanguineus

Hexabranchidae · Spanish dancersIUCN: Not evaluated
Spanish dancer
Photo: Pritska (talk) (Uploads) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A large red nudibranch that swims with undulating, flamenco-like movements.

Fun factIts eggs form a red ribbon called a 'sea rose.'

Waters
Indo-Pacific
Depth zone
Coral reefs
Diet
Sponges
Size
Up to 40 cm

Classification

Mollusca › Gastropoda › Nudibranchia › Hexabranchidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Protostomia protostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
    • Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
    • Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
  4. Clade Spiralia mollusks, worms & kin
    • Embryos usually divide in a spiral pattern (spiral cleavage)
    • Many have a swimming larva with a band of cilia (trochophore)
    • Includes mollusks and segmented worms
  5. Phylum Mollusca mollusks
    • Soft body with a muscular foot and a fold of tissue (mantle) that makes the shell
    • Most have a rasping, tongue-like ribbon of teeth (radula)
    • Includes snails, clams, octopuses, and chitons
  6. Class Gastropoda snails & slugs
    • Snails and slugs, most with a single, often coiled shell
    • Body twists 180 degrees during development (torsion)
    • Crawl on a broad muscular foot
  7. Subclass Heterobranchia sea slugs & kin
    • Includes most sea slugs, sea hares, and land and freshwater snails
    • Many marine members have reduced or no shell
  8. Order Nudibranchia nudibranchs
    • Shell-less sea slugs, often brightly colored
    • Breathe through feathery gills or finger-like growths (cerata) on the back
    • Many store stinging cells or toxins from their prey
  9. Family Hexabranchidae Spanish dancers
    • Large, red nudibranchs that can swim by flexing the body
  10. Genus Hexabranchus
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  11. Species Hexabranchus sanguineus Spanish dancer

Closest relatives in the guide