MB4-231 - Crepidula fornicata, ascidies et anémones sur sédiment grossier hétérogène de l'infralittoral en Atlantique

Crepidula fornicata with ascidians and anemones on Atlantic infralittoral coarse mixed sediment

Classification des habitats EUNIS 2022

Descriptif de l'habitat

Medium-coarse sands with gravel, shells, pebbles and cobbles on moderately exposed coasts may support populations of the slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata with ascidians and anemones. C. fornicata is common in this biotope though not as abundant as in the muddier estuarine biotope MB4-242 to which this is related. Anemones such as Urticina felina and Alcyonium digitatum and ascidians such as Styela clava are typically found in this biotope. Bryozoans such as Flustra foliacea are also found along with polychaetes such as Lanice conchilega. Little information is available with regard the infauna of this biotope but given the nature of the sediment the infaunal communities are liable to resemble those in biotopes from sublittoral coarse sediment and subunits. As with MC4-214 this biotope could be considered a superficial or epibiotic overlay but more data is required to support this.

Bibliographie

European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity 2022. EUNIS marine habitat classification 2022 including crosswalks. Table Excel. (Source)