Pycnogonum litorale   (Strom, 1762)

Anemone sea spider

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Pycnogonum litorale  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Pycnogonum litorale

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Pycnogonida | Pantopoda | Pycnogonidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 0 - 1262 m (Ref. 2007).  Subtropical; 78°N - 30°N, 72°W - 37°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Northern Atlantic, Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm

Short description Morphology

Proboscis: Attached relatively large animals such as actinians or sponges. Cuticle (covering the proboscis): May be smooth, partly, or wholly covered with tubercles. Proboscis (tip): Small and buld-like, once inserted in the host tissues they close round it and help to anchor the mouth in position to maintain suction. Mouth at the tip of the proboscis: triadiate structure which usually has three lip-lobes with a number of small tubercles (Ref. 12). Feeding on hosts: hydroid Tealia crassicornis, by suction and rasping of jaws,Lucernaria, Cucumaria frondosa, Metridiumdianthus and Metridium senile (Ref. 233, 229); polyzoans rotting edges of Flustra foliaces (Ref. 234); Milne-Edwardsia loweni, Tealia crassicornis, Lucernaria, Cucumaria frondosa, Metridium dianthus, Metridium senile, and Cynthia. Method of feeding: insertion of proboscis into tissues of the host (Ref. 233, 229). Association with other animals: Clava multicornis, Actinia, Tealia, Metridium,and Alcyonarium digitatum (Ref. 213); polyzoan Flustra foliacea (Ref. 12). Development site of larval associations: Clava multicornis with proboscis inserted (Ref. 213). Reproduction system: ova ripen in the trunk part of the ovary. Life cycle: male rests for a long period on the back of the female with their genital orifices touching. These orifices are situated on the ventral surface of the second coxa of the last pair of legs in the male and on the dorsal aspect of the same leg and segment in the female. When eggs are released they forma single extensive ball in this species with both ovigerous legs embedded in it (Ref. 12).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Epibenthic (Ref. 87524). Littoral (Ref. 1797) from coastal to slope (Ref. 19). Feeding on hosts, i.e., sea cucumbers, tunicates and hydroids and hard corals (Refs. 229, 233, 234) by inserting proboscis into tissues of the host (Refs. 233 and 229). Free-living (Ref. 3123). Prefers anemones Calliactis and Adamsia over Actinia and Tealia as its host. Reported one case where it fed on the holothurian Cucumaria frondosa (Ref. 121217).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Reproduction system: ova ripen in the trunk part of the ovary. Life cycle: male rests for a long period on the back of the female with their genital orifices touching. These orifices are situated on the ventral surface of the second coxa of the last pair of legs in the male and on the dorsal aspect of the same leg and segment in the female. When eggs are released they form a single extensive ball in this species with both ovigerous legs embedded in it (Ref. 12).

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Bamber, R.N. and M.H. Thurston. 1995. (Ref. 1797)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses


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Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 4.1 - 11.3, mean 8 (based on 132 cells).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.