List of cnidarians of Ireland
There are 302 species of cnidarians (phylum Cnidaria) recorded in Ireland.[1]
The cnidarians' distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance, sandwiched between two layers of epithelium that are mostly one cell thick. They have two basic body forms: swimming medusae and sessile polyps, both of which are radially symmetrical with mouths surrounded by tentacles that bear cnidocytes. Both forms have a single orifice and body cavity that are used for digestion and respiration. Many cnidarian species produce colonies that are single organisms composed of medusa-like or polyp-like zooids, or both (hence they are trimorphic).[2][3][4]
Cnidarians found in Ireland and Irish waters include sea pens, sea anemones, hydroids, sea jellies ("jellyfish") and corals.
Class Anthozoa
Order Actiniaria (sea anemones)
Family Actiniidae
- Actinia equina (beadlet anemone)
- Actinia fragacea (strawberry anemone)
- Anemonia viridis (snakelocks anemone)
- Anthopleura ballii (red speckled anemone)
- Aulactinia verrucosa (gem anemone)
- Urticina eques
- Urticina felina (northern red anemones, dahlia anemone)
Family Actinostolidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Stomphia_coccinea_cropped_centered.jpg/220px-Stomphia_coccinea_cropped_centered.jpg)
Family Aiptasiidae
Family Capneidae
- Capnea sanguinea
Family Edwardsiidae
- Edwardsia claparedii
- Edwardsia delapiae
- Edwardsia timida (timid burrowing anemone)
- Edwardsiella carnea
- Scolanthus callimorphus
Family Gonactiniidae
Family Halcampidae
- Halcampa chrysanthellum
Family Halcampoididae
- Halcampoides elongatus
Family Haloclavidae
Family Hormathiidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Pagurus_bernhardus.jpg/220px-Pagurus_bernhardus.jpg)
- Adamsia carciniopados
- Adamsia palliata (cloak anemone)
- Calliactis parasitica
- Cataphellia brodricii
- Hormathia coronata
Family Metridiidae
- Metridium senile (plumose anemone, frilled anemone)
Family Sagartiidae
- Actinothoe sphyrodeta
- Cereus pedunculatus (daisy anemone)
- Phellia gausapata
- Sagartia elegans
- Sagartia ornata
- Sagartia troglodytes (mud sagartia, cave-dwelling anemone)
- Sagartiogeton laceratus
- Sagartiogeton undatus
Order Alcyonacea (soft corals)
Family Alcyoniidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Tote_Meerhand_%28Alcyonium_digitatum%29_2.jpg/220px-Tote_Meerhand_%28Alcyonium_digitatum%29_2.jpg)
- Alcyonium digitatum (dead man's fingers)
- Alcyonium glomeratum (red sea fingers)
- Alcyonium hibernicum (pink sea fingers)
- Parerythropodium coralloides
Family Gorgoniidae
- Eunicella verrucosa (broad sea fan, pink sea fan, warty gorgonian)
Family Plexauridae
- Swiftia pallida (northern sea fan)
Order Ceriantharia (tube-dwelling anemone)
Family Arachnactidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/BEP2_2462-1.jpg/220px-BEP2_2462-1.jpg)
Family Cerianthidae
- Cerianthus lloydii (lesser cylinder anemone)
- Pachycerianthus multiplicatus (firework anemone)
Order Corallimorpharia
Family Corallimorphidae
Order Pennatulacea (sea pens)
Family Virgulariidae
Order Zoantharia
Family Epizoanthidae
- Epizoanthus couchii
Family Parazoanthidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Isozoanthus-sulcatus.jpg/220px-Isozoanthus-sulcatus.jpg)
- Isozoanthus sulcatus
- Parazoanthus anguicomus
- Parazoanthus axinellae (yellow cluster anemone)
Class Hydrozoa
Order Anthoathecata (athecate hydroids)
Family Bougainvilliidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Bougainvillia-ramosa.jpg/220px-Bougainvillia-ramosa.jpg)
- Bougainvillia muscus
- Garveia nutans
Family Candelabridae
- Candelabrum phrygium
Family Corymorphidae
Family Corynidae
- Coryne eximia
- Coryne muscoides
- Sarsia densa
Family Eudendriidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/2012-10-19_Cabrillo_Acquarium_085_%288104366206%29.jpg/220px-2012-10-19_Cabrillo_Acquarium_085_%288104366206%29.jpg)
Family Hydractiniidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Clava_multicornis_%28from_Allman%2C_1871%29.png/220px-Clava_multicornis_%28from_Allman%2C_1871%29.png)
- Clava multicornis
- Hydractinia echinata (snail fur)
Family Hydridae (hydras)
- Hydra viridissima (green hydra)[5]
- Hydra vulgaris (common hydra)[5]
Family Pandeiidae
- Leuckartiara octona
- Neoturris pileata
Family Porpitidae (chondrophores)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Velella_Bae_an_Anaon.jpg/220px-Velella_Bae_an_Anaon.jpg)
- Velella velella (sea raft, by-the-wind sailor, purple sail, little sail)
Family Tubulariidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Tubularia_indivisa_colony_%28from_Allman%2C_1872%29.png/220px-Tubularia_indivisa_colony_%28from_Allman%2C_1872%29.png)
- Ectopleura larynx
- Tubularia indivisa (oaten pipes hydroid)
Order Leptomedusae (thecate hydroids)
Family Aequoreidae
Family Aglaopheniidae
- Aglaophenia acacia
- Aglaophenia kirchenpaueri
- Aglaophenia pluma (toothed feather hydroid, podded hydroid)
- Aglaophenia tubiformis
- Aglaophenia tubulifera
- Gymnangium montagui
- Lytocarpia myriophyllum
Family Campanulariidae
- Campanularia hincksii
- Clytia hemisphaerica
- Laomedea angulata
- Laomedea flexuosa
- Obelia dichotoma
- Obelia geniculata
- Obelia longissima
- Obelia plicata
- Rhizocaulus verticillatus
Family Haleciidae
- Halecium beanii
- Halecium halecinum
- Halecium muricatum
- Halecium plumosum
Family Halopterididae
- Antennella secundaria
- Halopteris catharina
- Schizotricha frutescens
Family Kirchenpaueriidae
Family Lafoeidae
- Lafoea dumosa
Family Plumulariidae
- Nemertesia antennina
- Nemertesia ramosa
- Plumularia argentea
- Plumularia cupressina
- Plumularia distans
- Plumularia setacea (plumed hydroid, little sea bristle)
- Polyplumaria flabellata
Family Sertulariidae
- Abietinaria abietina
- Abietinaria filicula
- Amphisbetia operculata
- Diphasia alata
- Diphasia attenuata
- Diphasia fallax
- Diphasia nigra
- Diphasia pinaster
- Diphasia rosacea
- Dynamena pumila
- Hydrallmania falcata
- Sertularella fusiformis
- Sertularella gayi
- Sertularella mediterranea
- Sertularella polyzonias
- Sertularella rugosa
- Tamarisca tamarisca
- Thuiaria articulata (jointed hydroid)
- Thuiaria thuja
Order Limnomedusae
Family Olindiidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Craspedacusta_sowerbyi_by_OpenCage.jpg/220px-Craspedacusta_sowerbyi_by_OpenCage.jpg)
Order Siphonophorae (siphonophores)
Family Apolemiidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Apolemia_uvaria.jpg/220px-Apolemia_uvaria.jpg)
- Apolemia uvaria (string jellyfish, barbed wire jellyfish, long stringy stingy thingy)
Family Physaliidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Portuguese_Man-O-War_%28Physalia_physalis%29.jpg/220px-Portuguese_Man-O-War_%28Physalia_physalis%29.jpg)
- Physalia physalis (Portuguese man-o'-war, blue bottle, floating terror)
Class Scyphozoa (true sea jellies)
Order Rhizostomeae
Family Rhizostomatidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Jellyfish2.jpg/220px-Jellyfish2.jpg)
- Rhizostoma pulmo (barrel jelly, dustbin-lid jelly, frilly-mouthed jelly)
Order Semaeostomeae (flag-mouth sea jellies)
Family Cyaneidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Largelionsmanejellyfish.jpg/220px-Largelionsmanejellyfish.jpg)
- Cyanea capillata (lion's mane jelly)
- Cyanea lamarckii (blue jelly, bluefire)
Family Pelagiidae
- Chrysaora hysoscella (compass jelly)
- Pelagia noctiluca (mauve stinger)
Family Ulmaridae
- Aurelia aurita (moon jelly, common jelly, saucer jelly)
Order Scleractinia (stony corals, hard corals)
Family Caryophylliidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Caryophyllia_smithii_Stokes_%26_Broderip%2C_1828_4.jpg/220px-Caryophyllia_smithii_Stokes_%26_Broderip%2C_1828_4.jpg)
- Caryophyllia inornata
- Caryophyllia smithii (Devonshire cup coral)
- Lophelia pertusa[7]
Family Oculinidae
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Zigzag_coral_%28Madrepora_oculata%29.jpg/220px-Zigzag_coral_%28Madrepora_oculata%29.jpg)
- Madrepora oculata (zigzag coral)[7]
Class Staurozoa
Order Stauromedusae (stalked jellies)
Family Craterolophidae
- Craterolophus convolvulus
Family Kishinouyeidae
- Lucernariopsis campanulata
Family Lucernariidae
- Haliclystus auricula (kaleidoscope jelly)
References
- ^ "Irish Biodiversity: a taxonomic inventory of fauna" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "Species Browser".
- ^ "Home" (PDF).
- ^ "Sea Anemones and Corals - OceanAddicts".
- ^ a b "Common Hydra (Hydra vulgaris) - Detail - Biodiversity Maps".
- ^ "Craspedacusta sowerbyi - Detail - Biodiversity Maps".
- ^ a b "Coral reefs in Irish Waters".
- World Register of Marine Species
External links
- Marine species identification portal
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