Tag: Mediterranean marine species

Periwinkle

Scientific name: Littorina littorea

It measures between 2.5 and 3 cm. They live attached to the rocks that are submerged, in the cracks and crevices that serve to protect them from the waves and currents. It feeds on algae and does not neglect small invertebrates when the opportunity presents itself.

Curiosities

They are very resistant mollusks and can last a long time out of the water. When they feel attacked they take refuge inside the shell.

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Beadlet anemone

Scientific name: Actinia equina

Beadlet anemone are solitary animals that colonize rocks and coastal crevices. They have a foot that allows them to adhere and move slowly through rocks. It is primarily a nocturnal hunter that feeds on small fish and crustaceans with the help of its stinging tentacles.

Curiosities

Their ability to retract the tentacles and close with seawater allows them to live for periods of time out of the water. They tend to open their tentacles at night.

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Mediterranean red sea star

Scientific name: Echinaster sepositus

Red sea Star has five arms on the underside of which it has several rows of tube feet, which it uses to move around and to hold food. It also has short spines that are covered by the skin. It is found on rocky bottoms and Posidonia meadows. Feeds mostly on sponges and worms.

Curiosities 

They have regenerative capacity which allows them to develop a new arm if they lose it.

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Sea urchin

Scientific name: Paracentrotus lividus

Urchins are found from just below sea level to depths of 20 meters. It occupies deep, round cavities in soft rocks that it enlarges as it grows. It is herbivorous and feeds on algae, which it sometimes covers with to protect itself from intense light.

Curiosities

They move through the rocks at a speed of 1 meter a day to feed and return to their resting point on the rock.

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Neptune grass

Scientific name: Posidonia oceanica

It is an aquatic plant with roots, trunk, leaves, flowers and fruit. It is endemic to the Mediterranean and we always find it in well-lit areas up to 80 meters deep. Neptune grass takes root on the sand bottoms, fixing it, which is why it is very important in the creation of beaches.

Currently the Posidonia meadows are in clear regression due to water pollution, trawling and boat anchoring. It houses up to 400 types of algae and thousands of animal species.

Curiosities

Neptune grass suffers greatly in polluted waters, so they are indicators of the environmental quality of the water. Historically they have been used to build the roofs of local houses due to their insulating capacity and their ability to prevent the reproduction of bugs.

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Sea cucumber

Scientific name: Holothuria forskali

We find them at depths of up to 70 meters and it travels with three rows of feet and suction cups. Sea cucumber feeds on small organisms that are ingested at the same time as the sand, once the organic matter it contains is used it expels the rest.

Curiosities

For self-defense purposes, it can expel the entire digestive tract and then regenerate it.

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Grey mullet

Scientific name: Chelon labrosus

Grey mullet lives near the edges of free waters on rocky soils covered with algae, sometimes very close to the surface of the sea. They can measure up to 60 cm and feed on small invertebrates and algae.

Curiosities

They are of considerable fishery importance, and are often artificially reared on marine fish farms.

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Rainbow wrasse

Scientific name: Coris julis

While females are brown and orange, males have predominantly greenish tones with an orange line. They are found in rock bottoms up to 50 meters deep and are not greater than 25cm. They feed on sea urchins and crustaceans.

Curiosities

The females form groups to feed while the males are lone predators. They are also called maids because they clean the impurities of other larger fish with their teeth.

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Red mullet

Scientific name: Mullus surmuletus

Its coloration varies according to age, environment, depth and mood. It lives on soft, sandy ground and sometimes on rocky bottoms. To feed, it uses the two sensory barbels, stirring the sand to look for its prey.

Curiosities

It swallows the sand to filter it and expels it through the bronchi, retaining the food as small fish and crustaceans.

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Painted comber

Scientific name: Serranus scriba

It lives in shallow waters of up to 30 meters between rocks and areas of sand and posidonia, although sometimes we can see them inside sponges. They spawn near the shore leaving the eggs attached to the rocks at the bottom. They are carnivorous fish.

Curiosities

They are a very curious fish who like to stare at the diver and also like to observe octopuses when they move about the bottom of the sea.

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