Halecium muricatum

Halecium muricatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Cnidaria
Class:Hydrozoa
Order:Leptothecata
Family:Haleciidae
Genus:Halecium
Species: H. muricatum
Binomial name
Halecium muricatum
(Ellis & Solander, 1786)[1]

Halecium muricatum, commonly known as the sea hedgehog hydroid, [2] is a species of hydrozoan in the family Haleciidae. It occurs in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and around the coast of South Africa.

Description

Halecium muricatum is a colonial hydrozoan. It is arborescent, forming stiff bushy colonies usually between 80 and 130 mm (3 and 5 in) in height but sometimes 200 mm (8 in). The main stems are robust and a few large side branches diverge from these in three dimensions, each forming an angle of 30° with the main stem. Finer tertiary branches carry the polyps growing on short stems. The structure is typically yellow and the reproductive gonothecae are distinctive, being ovate and covered with rows of spines.[3]

Distribution and habitat

Halecium muricatum is found in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and around the coast of South Africa.[1] In the British Isles, its range extends from the western coast of Scotland southward to West Wales where it occurs around Lundy Island and Skomer Island; it is commonest in Scotland and tends to occur only in exposed locations further south. It chiefly grows in gullies and on vertical rock faces,[3] at depths between 10 and 1,350 m (30 and 4,430 ft).[4]

Ecology

This hydrozoan is predated by the nudibranch Zelentia pustulata which feeds almost exclusively on it and winds its egg coils around its branches.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 van der Land, Jacob (2018). "Halecium muricatum (Ellis & Solander, 1786)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "Halecium muricatum (Ellis & Solander, 1786)". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 Picton, B.E.; Morrow, C.C. (2016). "Halecium muricatum (Ellis & Solander, 1786)". Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  4. ↑ Hayward, Peter J.; Ryland, John Stanley (2017). Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-19-954944-3.
  5. ↑ Picton, B.E.; Morrow, C.C. (2016). "Zelentia pustulata (Alder & Hancock, 1854)". Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.