Skip to main content

Tall Sea Pen

Funiculina quadrangularis
The Tall Sea Pen, like all Sea Pens, is a relative to Sea Anemones and Corals. And like Coral, though they may look like one creature, they are actually comprised of several organisms called polyps. These polyps, which are pale in color and possess eight tiny tentacles each, gather onto an axis, a long structure made of calcium carbonate. The species name, quadrangularis, actually refers to the cross-section shape of this axis-- a square.

Tall Sea Pens have a very interesting distribution. You'll find them near the British Isles and the North Atlantic, but you'll also find them way over by New Zealand and Japan as well-- halfway around the world! They live in colonies that can form literal Sea Pen forests, and exist at depths of between 20 and 2,300 feet. A large specimen can grow over 2 meters tall!

The aforementioned polyp tentacles are what allow this Cnidarian to feed. They sway in the water and pick up floating substrate using a method called suspension feeding. The polyps also have unique sexes to them, and each colony will only have polyps of the same sex on it.
IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : North Atlantic, South Pacific
Size : Length up to 7ft (2.1m)
Classification : Phylum : Cnidaria -- Class : Octocorallia -- Order : Pennatulacea
Family : Funiculinidae -- Genus : Funiculina -- Species : F. quadrangularis
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed ...
Post a Comment
Read more