Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help
Researched by | Kelsey Lloyd | Refereed by | Admin |
Authority | (Linnaeus, 1758) | ||
Other common names | - | Synonyms | - |
A feather-like sea fir forming a flat two-dimensional plane that can grow up to 1.5 cm on other species but up to 7 cm on rocks and boulders. The main stem is brown in colour, slightly winding, with long side branches attached. Long internodes of the main stem bear polyps in chitinous cups (hydrothecae) with two or three nodes between each one and its neighbour. It bears both male and female reproductive polyps (gonothecae) that are a distinctive ampule shape.
Widespread around British Isles and east coast of Ireland. Less common on the east coast of Scotland and north-eastern coast of England.
Plumularia setacea is nearly cosmopolitan in tropical to temperate coastal waters. It is recorded in the north-east Atlantic Ocean, from Iceland and Norway and south to the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Plumularia setacea is commonly found in intertidal and coastal habitats. It is recorded on algae, pool sides and rock faces on the shore, and on a variety of substrata. It is thought to prefer Nemertesia ramosa, Nemertesia antennina, sponges, ascidians, molluscs and plants.
Plumularia setacea is apparently intolerant of reduced salinity (Cornelius, 1995b).
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Cornelius, P.F.S., 1995b. North-west European thecate hydroids and their medusae. Part 2. Sertulariidae to Campanulariidae. Shrewsbury: Field Studies Council. [Synopses of the British Fauna no. 50]
Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins.
Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 1995b. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 2017. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Porter, J., 2012. Seasearch Guide to Bryozoans and Hydroids of Britain and Ireland. Ross-on-Wye: Marine Conservation Society.
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Last Updated: 30/09/2021
Tags: Sea fir Hydroid