''Peachia cylindrica'' is a large

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea anemone Sea anemones are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates of the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classifi ...

in the family

Haloclavidae Haloclavidae is a family of sea anemones. Members of the family are found worldwide and many live largely buried in soft substrates with only their oral disc and tentacles protruding. Characteristics Members of this family mostly have elongated ...

. It is normally found burrowed into soft substrates, the only visible part of the animal being the oral disc and tentacles which usually lie flat on the sand. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Peachia ''Peachia'' is a genus of sea anemone in the family Haloclavidae. Members of this genus typically burrow into soft substrates. The only part of the animal that is normally visible is the oral disc and tentacles which lie flat on the sand in a sta ...

''.''Peachia cylindrica''
Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2011-10-09.

Description

When exposed, ''Peachia cylindrica'' can retract into a spherical shape but in its normal habitat, underwater and buried in the sand, it can extend to 30 cm (12 in) with a diameter of 2.5 cm (1 in). When extended, the lowest part of the column has a rounded base which is not adhesive to any hard structure. The main section is wider than the base part, sausage shaped, often with slight constrictions. It has a thin mucous sheath to which sand grains sometimes adhere. The short top section or capitulum is narrower and slightly fluted. The oral disc is surrounded by 12

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s and there is a 3-lobed conchula, a projection of the lip beside the mouth which is unique to this genus. The tentacles vary in length being short and squat when the animal is not buried but becoming long and thin when it is buried and submerged, spanning 12 cm (5 in). The colour of the column is a translucent pale brown or cream, variously speckled and streaked with brown and red markings. The bottom of the capitulum has white markings. The disc and tentacles have a chevron pattern in grey, brown and cream, though occasionally the disc is plain.Peachia cylindrica (Reid, 1848)
Habitas. Retrieved 2011-10-09.

Distribution

''Peachia cylindrica'' is found around the Atlantic coasts of Western Europe, including the British Isles, and is sparsely distributed in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. It occurs typically in the

sublittoral zone The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

buried in the sand between low water mark and a depth of 50 m (160 ft).

References

Haloclavidae Animals described in 1848 {{actiniaria-stub