Worm anemone (Edwardsiella carnea)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help

Summary

Description

Edwardsiella carnea is translucent pale orange in colour, with white or yellow markings on the column beneath the disc. The disc may have powdering of white or yellow colour. This species may form large local populations. The tentacles are long and also translucent pale orange in colour. There can be up to 36 of them, but generally there are only 28. The column is elongated and approximately 2.5 cm in length and 4 mm in diameter.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Recorded from Plymouth, Torquay, Port Erin (Isle of Man), Millport (Clyde), Tenby, and Holm Bay (Strangford Lough) in Ireland. For other records see distribution map.

Global distribution

Recorded from south Scandinavia, north France and possibly the Mediterranean.

Habitat

This species lives in holes and crevices and empty or possibly occupied borings of piddocks. It can be found in sheltered places that are out of the light, e.g. beneath overhangs or in caves. Edwardsiella carnea can be found from mid-tide to shallow sublittoral conditions.

Depth range

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Identifying features

  • The entire anemone is translucent pale orange in colour.
  • This species may form large local populations.
  • The tentacles are long and there can be up to 36 but generally there are only 28.
  • The column is elongated and approximately 2.5 cm in length and 4 mm in diameter.

Additional information

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Listed by

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Further information sources

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Bibliography

  1. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  2. Manuel, R.L., 1988. British Anthozoa. Synopses of the British Fauna (New Series) (ed. D.M. Kermack & R.S.K. Barnes). The Linnean Society of London [Synopses of the British Fauna No. 18.]. DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/iroh.19810660505

  3. Picton, B.E. & Costello, M.J., 1998. BioMar biotope viewer: a guide to marine habitats, fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland. [CD-ROM] Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin.

  4. Stephenson, T.A., 1935. The British Sea Anemones, vol. 2. London: Ray Society.

Datasets

  1. Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, 2018. Ulster Museum Marine Surveys of Northern Ireland Coastal Waters. Occurrence dataset https://www.nmni.com/CEDaR/CEDaR-Centre-for-Environmental-Data-and-Recording.aspx accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-09-25.

  2. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  3. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2025. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2025-05-15

  4. South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre, 2023. SEWBReC Marine and other Aquatic Invertebrates (South East Wales). Occurrence dataset:https://doi.org/10.15468/zxy1n6 accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-27.

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Peckett, F. & Garrard, S. L. 2003. Edwardsiella carnea Worm anemone. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 15-05-2025]. Available from: https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1844

Last Updated: 06/01/2003