Golfingia margaritacea margaritacea (Sars, 1851)
A common cosmopolitan species dwelling in mud and sand/gravel bottoms
Size
- Juvenile: total length of 6 mm
- Common trunk length: 10-30 mm
- Maximum trunk length: up to 150 mm
Color & Characteristics
- From light to medium brown
- Hooks absent, four retractor muscles present
- Many cuticular bodies and papillae on the skin, with papillae most distinct on the posterior end of the trunk
- Up to 24 slender, flattened tentacles, but usually only 8 to 16 arranged in a single circle around the mouth
- Wide morphological variability, especially in large specimens, most often in skin's appearance and structure
Habitat & Distribution
- Very widely distributed: found in all sectors of the Atlantic, Antarctic and Arctic oceans.
- Known from depths of 1-5300m, but typically less than 300 m
- Inhabits sand and mud
- In Svalbard, found at depths from 67-270m.
Feeding
- Deposit feeder
Life cycle
- Probably trochophore larva.
More Biology & Ecology
- Golfingia margaritacea, found in very high numbers and significant biomass, may be an important food source for higher trophic levels fauna in Svalbard fjords.
- This species is an important part of the diet of the fish (Gadiformes, Scorpaeniformes, Pleuronectiformes) as well as of several sea stars and some gastropods in the Barents Sea, Greenland Sea and Alaska
Page Author: Monika Kedra
Created: August 10, 2010