Lake District Coast Aquarium

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [96] – The Beadlet Anemone

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [96] The Beadlet Anemone (Actinia equina) by Mark Vollers, The Lake District Coast Aquarium, Maryport This has to be one of the hardiest of our native anemones, up to 5 cm in diameter and generally bright red, sometimes brown or green and with numerous tentacles. Many also have bright blue […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth [95] The Breadcrumb Sponge

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [95] The Breadcrumb Sponge Halichondria Panicea by Mark Vollers The Solway Firth has remarkable biodiversity and this includes numerous species of invertebrates we call sponges. One of these is the Breadcrumb Sponge which colonises rocky surfaces from extreme low water mark down to 550m and may be found throughout the […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth [94] The Plumose Anemone

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [94] The Plumose Anemone Metridium Senile by Mark Vollers This anemone is quite rightly often described as being one of the most beautiful of all native anemones, found on rocky coasts around the UK and Ireland, Western Europe and North America from low tide mark down to at least 100 […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth [93] The Butterfish (Pholis gunnellus)

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [93] The Butterfish (Pholis gunnellus) by Mark Vollers This small fish (rarely above 20cm) is found on rocky ground from low tide level down to 40m all around the British coast and much of the North Atlantic. Why the name? Quite possibly because it is extremely slippery should you attempt […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth [91] The Estuary Ragworm

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [91] The Estuary Ragworm (Hediste diversicolor) by Mark Vollers Worldwide there are hundreds of species of marine segmented worms and classifying them all is still an ongoing debate! The estuary ragworm most sea anglers are familiar with is certainly present in The Solway Firth and other estuaries around the UK, […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth [90] The Sea Vase, by Mark Vollers, Lake District Coast Aquarium

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [90] The Sea Vase (Ciona intestinalis) by Mark Vollers, Lake District Coast Aquarium These beautiful animals are one of a group known as sea squirts, so named because if  moved out of their element they will often spurt out  a stream of water!    They are widespread around the British […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth [89] The Cushion Star

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [89] The Cushion Star Asterina Gibbosa by Mark Vollers, The Lake District Coast Aquarium The Cushion Starfish or Starlet is not uncommon on rocky western British coasts but is rarely seen because it spends most of its time underneath boulders and stones, its small size, (maximum 5 cm) and its […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth [88] The Lugworm

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [88] The Lugworm (Arenicola marina) by Mark Vollers, Lake District Coast Aquarium Everyone who enjoys a stroll across a sandy Solway Firth beach when the tide has retreated will have observed the little squiggly pyramids of sand which indicate the presence of a lugworm in it’s burrow beneath. This worm […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth: The Sea Slater

Wildlife of The Solway Firth The Sea Slater (Ligea Oceanica) by Mark Vollers, The Lake District Coast Aquarium The common Sea Slater or Sea Roach is quite common along rocky shorelines of temperate seas from Norway to the Mediterranean and on the Eastern seaboard of North America but as it lives in crevices and under […]

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Wildlife of The Solway Firth – The Moon Jellyfish

Wildlife of The Solway Firth [86] The Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia Aurita) by Mark Vollers, Lake District Coast Aquarium The Moon or Common Jellyfish is the most frequently seen Jellyfish around the British coastline and is also found in other temperate inshore areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Thankfully they are totally harmless to humans! […]

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