  We present results of our ongoing study of the morphology and kinematics of
the ionised gas in 48 representative nearby elliptical and lenticular galaxies
using the SAURON integral-field spectrograph on the 4.2m William Herschel
Telescope. Making use of a recently developed technique, emission is detected
in 75% of the galaxies. The ionised-gas distributions display varied
morphologies, ranging from regular gas disks to filamentary structures.
Additionally, the emission-line kinematic maps show, in general, regular
motions with smooth variations in kinematic position angle. In most of the
galaxies, the ionised-gas kinematics is decoupled from the stellar counterpart,
but only some of them present signatures of recent accretion of gaseous
material. The presence of dust is very common in our sample and is usually
accompanied by gas emission. Our analysis of the [OIII]/Hbeta emission-line
ratios, both across the whole sample as well as within the individual galaxies,
suggests that there is no unique mechanism triggering the ionisation of the
gas.
