Hexabranchus marginatus var. moebii Eliot (1904a

Tibiriçá, Yara, Pola, Marta, Pittman, Cory, Gosliner, Terrence M., Malaquias, Manuel A. & Cervera, Juan Lucas, 2023, A Spanish dancer? No! A troupe of dancers: a review of the family Hexabranchidae Bergh, 1891 (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Nudibranchia), Organisms Diversity & Evolution (New York, N. Y.) 23 (4), pp. 697-742 : 734

Hexabranchus marginatus var. moebii Eliot (1904a , b) (Fig. 26V)

Description notes Description of this variety was made by Eliot (1904b) based on a systematic review performed by Bergh (1892): notum varies in color from light red to whitish, frequently mottled; distinct red and white bands surround the mantle from which smaller and larger areas alternately run inwards; six to eight gill leaves, often separated by a little tissue and appearing higher in number.

Own conclusion/opinion on its taxonomic status Bergh (1892) re-describe H. marginatus including two variations. Eliot (1904b) thought that one of the variations was distinct due to the peculiar red/white band, referring to this as var. ‘moebii’. Despite the color differences, Eliot (1904b) did not find any structural differences between these varieties, H. faustus and H. marginatus . Our results show that they are all variations of H. lacer : a typical light morphotype with a mottled notum, a darker morphotype in which dark pigment obscures the mottling/lateral markings and a juvenile. Online pictures show the lighter and darker morphotypes mating (e.g., https://www.istockphoto.com/es/foto/bailarina-española-gm1328642884-412631041).