Hexabranchus sanguineus (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1828)

Hexabranchus sanguineus

(Rüppell & Leuckart, 1828)

Photographed by: Tristan Low

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Opisthobranchia
Order:	Nudibranchia
Suborder:	Doridina
Family:	Hexabranchidae
Species:	Hexabranchus sanguineus

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #5839

A juvenile individual.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #4422

A remarkable shot of the head showing the large branched oral tentacles (that are unique to Hexabranchus) just underneath the front of the mantle.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #3909

A juvenile individual.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #3910

A juvenile individual.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #3361

This photo shows a juvenile Hexabranchus sanguineus that has just grown to the size where it is able to fold the edges of its mantle over its back (I would guess about 40 mm long)– notice the separate gills with the anus in the middle of them appearing as a small white papilla.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #3223

Note the separate gills that cannot be contracted beneath the mantle surface.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #1063

A typical individual from the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean which is all red without white markings.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #2642

In being uniformly red, this individual is more like those from the Red Sea than elsewhere in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #1683

Detail of gills with commensal shrimp Periclimenes imperator.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #812

A rather small individual. Specimens of Hexabranchus sanguineus from the Indo-Pacific (like this one) have white lateral blotches on the mantle, whereas those from the Red Sea (the type locality) have a completely red mantle.