Description of biotope or habitat type
To understand more about what this page is describing, see How to use the classification. See also How to cite.
Virgularia mirabilis and Ophiura spp. with Pecten maximus, hydroids and ascidians on circalittoral sandy or shelly mud with stones
Physical habitat description
| Salinity | Full (30-35 ppt), Variable (18-35 ppt) |
|---|---|
| Wave exposure | Moderately exposed, Sheltered, Very sheltered |
| Tidal streams | Moderately strong (1-3 kn), Weak (>1 kn), Very weak (negligible) |
| Substratum | Gravely mud; shelly mud; sandy mud with stones or shells |
| Zone | Circalittoral |
| Depth Band | 5-10 m, 10-20 m, 20-30 m, 30-50 m |
| Other Features |
Biotope origin
| Derived using data from | Various |
| Faunal group | Epifauna |
Download comparative physical and biological data. The comparative tables enable a rapid comparison of the species composition and principal physical characteristics between a given set of biotopes.
- Records used to define the biotope (core records)
- Other records assigned to this biotope, marked as 'certain'
- Other records assigned to this biotope, marked as 'uncertain'
- Predicted extent of the level 3 (for sublittoral rock & deep sea) or 4 (for sublittoral sediment) habitat
Point data based on records in the UK Marine Recorder Snapshot. Predicted habitat extent is from UKSeaMap.
Description
Circalittoral fine sandy mud with shell gravel and notable quantities of shells or small stones scattered over the sediment surface. These sediments, like SS.SMu.CSaMu.VirOphPmax, may contain Virgularia mirabilis, Pecten maximus and Ophiura spp. but shells and small stones scattered over the sediment surface provided sufficient stable substrata for a variety of sessile epifaunal species to occur. Of these the hydroids Kirchenpaueria pinnata, Nemertesia antennina and Nemertesia ramosa are most common with solitary ascidians such as Corella parallelogramma and Ascidia mentula also present. The anemone Cerianthus lloydii is often found in the sediment together with occasional Lanice conchilega. The serpulids Protula tubularia, Serpula vermicularis and Spirobranchus triqueter and the barnacles Balanus balanus and Balanus crenatus are also often present on pebbles and shells. Munida rugosa are occasionally found under larger stones. All these species are typical of more rocky habitats in such sheltered conditions. As with SS.SMu.CSaMu.VirOphPmax this biotope is primarily identified on the basis of its epifauna and may be an epibiotic overlay over other closely related biotopes such as SS.SMu.CSaMu.AfilKurAnit and SS.SMu.CSaMu.AfilEten.
Situation
No situation data available.
Temporal variation
No temporal data available.
Characterising species
| Taxon | Relative importance of taxon for defining this community (%) | Typical abundance - SACFOR scale | % of core records where taxon was recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pecten maximus | 8 | Occasional | 61-80% |
| Cerianthus lloydii | 7 | Occasional | 61-80% |
| Virgularia mirabilis | 7 | Occasional | 61-80% |
| Asterias rubens | 6 | Occasional | 61-80% |
| Pagurus bernhardus | 6 | Occasional | 41-60% |
| Ophiura albida | 5 | Frequent | 41-60% |
| Echinus esculentus | 4 | Occasional | 41-60% |
| Lanice conchilega | 3 | Occasional | 41-60% |
| Spirobranchus triqueter | 3 | Occasional | 41-60% |
| Kirchenpaueria pinnata | 2 | Occasional | 41-60% |
| Liocarcinus depurator | 2 | Occasional | 41-60% |
| Nemertesia antennina | 2 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Nemertesia ramosa | 2 | Occasional | 41-60% |
| Ophiura ophiura | 2 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Pagurus prideaux | 2 | Rare | 41-60% |
| Aporrhais pespelecani | 1 | Rare | 21-40% |
| Balanus crenatus | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Buccinum undatum | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Chaetopterus variopedatus | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Corella parallelogramma | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Crossaster papposus | 1 | Rare | 21-40% |
| Halecium halecinum | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Inachus dorsettensis | 1 | Rare | 21-40% |
| Munida rugosa | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Protula tubularia | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Turritellinella tricarinata | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
Similar biotopes or habitat types
SS.SMu.CFiMu.SpnMeg
SS.SMu.CFiMu.SpnMeg is found on finer muddier sediment and may be characterised by frequent Nephrops norvegicus and other megafaunal species.
SS.SMu.IFiMu.PhiVir
SS.SMu.CSaMu.VirOphPmax.HAs occurs in more mixed sediments and often slightly deeper water.
SS.SMu.CSaMu.VirOphPmax
Greater quantities of stones and shells on the surface give rise to more sessile epibenthic species and distinguish this sub biotope from SS.SMu.CSaMu.VirOphPmax.Classification history of this biotope or habitat type
| Classification version | Code | Habitat name |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 (15.03) | SS.SMu.CSaMu.VirOphPmax.HAs | Virgularia mirabilis and Ophiura spp. with Pecten maximus, hydroids and ascidians on circalittoral sandy or shelly mud with stones |
| 2004 (04.05) | SS.SMu.CSaMu.VirOphPmax.HAs | Virgularia mirabilis and Ophiura spp. with Pecten maximus, hydroids and ascidians on circalittoral sandy or shelly mud with stones |
| 1997 (97.06) | SS.CMS.VirOph.Has | Virgularia mirabilis and Ophiura spp. with hydroids and ascidians on circalittoral sandy or shelly mud with shells or stones |