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

[edit]

### Order Actiniaria (sea anemones)

[edit]

#### Family Actiniidae

[edit]

Actinia fragacea (strawberry anemone)

* 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

[edit]

Stomphia coccinea

* Stomphia coccinea

#### Family Aiptasiidae

[edit]

* Aiptasia mutabilis

#### Family Capneidae

[edit]

* Capnea sanguinea

#### Family Edwardsiidae

[edit]

* Edwardsia claparedii
* Edwardsia delapiae
* Edwardsia timida (timid burrowing anemone)
* Edwardsiella carnea
* Scolanthus callimorphus

#### Family Gonactiniidae

[edit]

* Gonactinia prolifera

#### Family Halcampidae

[edit]

* Halcampa chrysanthellum

#### Family Halcampoididae

[edit]

* Halcampoides elongatus

#### Family Haloclavidae

[edit]

* Mesacmaea mitchellii
* Peachia cylindrica

#### Family Hormathiidae

[edit]

Calliactis parasitica living on the shell of a common whelk, occupied by soldier crab.

* Adamsia carciniopados
* Adamsia palliata (cloak anemone)
* Calliactis parasitica
* Cataphellia brodricii
* Hormathia coronata

#### Family Metridiidae

[edit]

* Metridium senile (plumose anemone, frilled anemone)

#### Family Sagartiidae

[edit]

* 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)

[edit]

#### Family Alcyoniidae

[edit]

Alcyonium digitatum (dead man's fingers)

* Alcyonium digitatum (dead man's fingers)
* Alcyonium glomeratum (red sea fingers)
* Alcyonium hibernicum (pink sea fingers)
* Parerythropodium coralloides

#### Family Gorgoniidae

[edit]

Eunicella verrucosa

* Eunicella verrucosa (broad sea fan, pink sea fan, warty gorgonian)

#### Family Plexauridae

[edit]

* Swiftia pallida (northern sea fan)

### Order Ceriantharia (tube-dwelling anemone)

[edit]

#### Family Arachnactidae

[edit]

Arachnanthus sarsi, photographed off Rathlin Island

* Arachnanthus sarsi

#### Family Cerianthidae

[edit]

Pachycerianthus multiplicatus (firework anemone)

* Cerianthus lloydii (lesser cylinder anemone)
* Pachycerianthus multiplicatus (firework anemone)

### Order Corallimorpharia

[edit]

#### Family Corallimorphidae

[edit]

* Corynactis viridis

### Order Pennatulacea (sea pens)

[edit]

#### Family Virgulariidae

[edit]

* Virgularia mirabilis

### Order Zoantharia

[edit]

#### Family Epizoanthidae

[edit]

* Epizoanthus couchii

#### Family Parazoanthidae

[edit]

Isozoanthus sulcatus in Lough Hyne

* Isozoanthus sulcatus
* Parazoanthus anguicomus
* Parazoanthus axinellae (yellow cluster anemone)

## Class Hydrozoa

[edit]

### Order Anthoathecata (athecate hydroids)

[edit]

#### Family Bougainvilliidae

[edit]

Bougainvillia muscus

* Bougainvillia muscus
* Garveia nutans

#### Family Candelabridae

[edit]

* Candelabrum phrygium

#### Family Corymorphidae

[edit]

* Corymorpha nutans

#### Family Corynidae

[edit]

* Coryne eximia
* Coryne muscoides
* Sarsia densa

#### Family Eudendriidae

[edit]

Spanish shawl feeding on Eudendrium ramosum

* Eudendrium annulatum
* Eudendrium arbuscula
* Eudendrium ramosum

#### Family Hydractiniidae

[edit]

Clava multicornis

* Clava multicornis
* Hydractinia echinata (snail fur)

#### Family Hydridae (hydras)

[edit]

* Hydra viridissima (green hydra)[5]
* Hydra vulgaris (common hydra)[5]

#### Family Pandeiidae

[edit]

* Leuckartiara octona
* Neoturris pileata

#### Family Porpitidae (chondrophores)

[edit]

Velella velella colony

* Velella velella (sea raft, by-the-wind sailor, purple sail, little sail)

#### Family Tubulariidae

[edit]

Tubularia indivisa (oaten pipes hydroid)

* Ectopleura larynx
* Tubularia indivisa (oaten pipes hydroid)

### Order Leptomedusae (thecate hydroids)

[edit]

#### Family Aequoreidae

[edit]

* Aequorea forskalea
* Aequorea vitrina

#### Family Aglaopheniidae

[edit]

* Aglaophenia acacia
* Aglaophenia kirchenpaueri
* Aglaophenia pluma (toothed feather hydroid, podded hydroid)
* Aglaophenia tubiformis
* Aglaophenia tubulifera
* Gymnangium montagui
* Lytocarpia myriophyllum

#### Family Campanulariidae

[edit]

* Campanularia hincksii
* Clytia hemisphaerica
* Laomedea angulata
* Laomedea flexuosa
* Obelia dichotoma
* Obelia geniculata
* Obelia longissima
* Obelia plicata
* Rhizocaulus verticillatus

#### Family Haleciidae

[edit]

* Halecium beanii
* Halecium halecinum
* Halecium muricatum
* Halecium plumosum

#### Family Halopterididae

[edit]

* Antennella secundaria
* Halopteris catharina
* Schizotricha frutescens

#### Family Kirchenpaueriidae

[edit]

* Kirchenpaueria pinnata

#### Family Lafoeidae

[edit]

* Lafoea dumosa

#### Family Plumulariidae

[edit]

* Nemertesia antennina
* Nemertesia ramosa
* Plumularia argentea
* Plumularia cupressina
* Plumularia distans
* Plumularia setacea (plumed hydroid, little sea bristle)
* Polyplumaria flabellata

#### Family Sertulariidae

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

#### Family Olindiidae

[edit]

Craspedacusta sowerbii

* Craspedacusta sowerbii[6]

### Order Siphonophorae (siphonophores)

[edit]

#### Family Apolemiidae

[edit]

Apolemia uvaria (string jellyfish)

* Apolemia uvaria (string jellyfish, barbed wire jellyfish, long stringy stingy thingy)

#### Family Physaliidae

[edit]

Portuguese man-o'-war

* Physalia physalis (Portuguese man-o'-war, blue bottle, floating terror)

## Class Scyphozoa (true sea jellies)

[edit]

### Order Rhizostomeae

[edit]

#### Family Rhizostomatidae

[edit]

Rhizostoma pulmo

* Rhizostoma pulmo (barrel jelly, dustbin-lid jelly, frilly-mouthed jelly)

### Order Semaeostomeae (flag-mouth sea jellies)

[edit]

#### Family Cyaneidae

[edit]

Cyanea capillata (lion's mane jelly)

* Cyanea capillata (lion's mane jelly)
* Cyanea lamarckii (blue jelly, bluefire)

#### Family Pelagiidae

[edit]

* Chrysaora hysoscella (compass jelly)
* Pelagia noctiluca (mauve stinger)

#### Family Ulmaridae

[edit]

* Aurelia aurita (moon jelly, common jelly, saucer jelly)

### Order Scleractinia (stony corals, hard corals)

[edit]

#### Family Caryophylliidae

[edit]

Caryophyllia smithii

* Caryophyllia inornata
* Caryophyllia smithii (Devonshire cup coral)
* Lophelia pertusa[7]

#### Family Oculinidae

[edit]

Zigzag coral

* Madrepora oculata (zigzag coral)[7]

## Class Staurozoa

[edit]

### Order Stauromedusae (stalked jellies)

[edit]

#### Family Craterolophidae

[edit]

* Craterolophus convolvulus

#### Family Kishinouyeidae

[edit]

* Lucernariopsis campanulata

#### Family Lucernariidae

[edit]

* Haliclystus auricula (kaleidoscope jelly)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Irish Biodiversity: a taxonomic inventory of fauna" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-08-21.
2. ^ "Species Browser".
3. ^ "Home" (PDF).
4. ^ "Sea Anemones and Corals - OceanAddicts".
5. ^ a b "Common Hydra (Hydra vulgaris) - Detail - Biodiversity Maps".
6. ^ "Craspedacusta sowerbyi - Detail - Biodiversity Maps".
7. ^ a b "Coral reefs in Irish Waters".

* World Register of Marine Species

## External links

[edit]

* Marine species identification portal

* v
* t
* e

Fauna of Ireland

Invertebrates:

* Arachnids
* Beetles
* Bryozoa
* Butterflies
* Cnidarians
* Annelida
* Nemertea
* Tunicates
* Crustaceans
* Echinoderms
* Moths
* Centipedes and millipedes
* Damselflies and dragonflies
* Grasshoppers and bush-crickets
* Non-marine molluscs
* Marine molluscs
* Two-winged flies
* Sponges
* Bees and wasps
* Bugs

Vertebrates:

* Amphibians
* Birds
* Fish
* Mammals
* Reptiles

* Endemic species of Britain & Ireland

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template