Tall sea pen  (Funiculina quadrangularis)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Description

Sea pens are colonial organisms that belong to the same group as corals and sea anemones (3). Each animal comprises of a colony of soft-bodied polyps, which occur along a stiffened (3) calcareous middle section, called an 'axis' or 'rachis' (3). The tall sea pen is the largest of the three sea pens that occur around the British Isles (2). It is very narrow, with a white axis that is square in cross-section (1). The polyps have eight tentacles (3), are pale pink or white in colour and occur irregularly along the axis or in rows in places (1).

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