Cornish Biodiversity Network - Supporting Wildlife Recording
The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Range & Status
A highly distinctive species which is only very rarely found due to its habit of burrowing into soft muddy or muddy/sand substrates in search of its cnidarian prey, the Sea Pen Virgularia mirabilis . This cnidarian is rare in Cornish waters, but several specimens of Armina loveni have been recorded in Falmouth Bay in recent years. Most British records have come from sheltered northern waters where its prey is very much more common. There is also a record from the south Devon coastline.
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.