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Concept: [Antedon] spp., solitary ascidians and fine hydroids on sheltered circalittoral rock in the eunishabitats vocabulary

Concept URI http://eunis.eea.europa.eu/eunishabitats/A4.313
Preferred label [Antedon] spp., solitary ascidians and fine hydroids on sheltered circalittoral rock
Definition This biotope is typically found on silty boulder or rock slopes, in the sheltered parts of sealochs, subject to weak or very weak tidal currents. The seabed consists of smooth, silty bedrock or boulders, often as outcrops on mixed muddy sediment. There are often small vertical faces on the sides of rock ridges, and at few sites, there may be more extensive steep or vertical bedrock. In sharp contrast to the barren, grazed appearance of AmenCio.Ant, the species composition of AntAsH is quite diverse, although no one phyla dominates. A wide range of encrusting species may be found, including the brachiopod [Neocrania anomala], the saddle oyster [Pododesmus patelliformis], encrusting red algae and polychaetes ([Pomatoceros triqueter] and [Protula tubularia]). Other conspicuous species include crinoids on the tops of boulders ([Antedon bifida], commoner in shallower water and [Antedon petasus], commoner in deeper water), scattered solitary and colonial ascidians ([Ascidia mentula], [Ascidia virginea], [Corella parallelogramma], [Clavelina lepadiformis] and [Ciona intestinalis]) and tufts of fine hydroids ([Kirchenpaueria pinnata], [Nemertesia antennina], [Obelia dichotoma] and [Halceum halecinum]). The cup coral [Caryophyllia smithii] and the crustose bryozoan [Parasmittina trispinosa] are all typically present, as are a wide range of echinoderms, including the sea urchin [Echinus esculentus], the starfish [Asterias rubens] and [Crossaster papposus], and the brittlestars [Ophiothrix fragilis] and [Ophiura albida]. Other species recorded are the squat lobster [Munida rugosa], the hermit crab [Pagurus bernhardus] and the chiton [Tonicella marmorea]. Situation: The range of biotopes shallower and deeper than AntAsH is typical of a sheltered sealoch. Silted kelp biotopes (e.g. LhypLsac, Lsac) are typically found shallower than AntAsH in the infralittoral zone. Deeper than AntAsH, the boulder slope typically grades into a muddy slope or plain (CMU or CMX), along with fauna commonly associated with soft-sediments (e.g. seapens and the mud snail [Turritella]).
Notation A4.313
Status Valid
Status Modified 2014-01-31
Accepted Date 2014-01-31
Not Accepted Date
Has broader
Has exact match