The thermophilic sea anemone Telmatactis cricoides (Cnidaria, Hexacorallia) in the western Mediterranean: filling gaps in the knowledge of the distribution

Alejandro Martín-Arjona, Anabel Muñoz-Caballero, Alberto Serrano, David Díaz-Viñolas and Javier Urra, 2024. The thermophilic sea anemone Telmatactis cricoides (Cnidaria, Hexacorallia) in the western Mediterranean: filling gaps in the knowledge of the distribution. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 104, e9, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315424000043

Abstract: Several individuals of the sea anemone Telmatactis cricoides (Duchassaing, 1850) (order Actiniaria) were observed in the Mediterranean continental Spanish coast (Almeria) and the Balearic Islands (Mallorca) showing an expansion of the species, possibly related to rising sea water temperatures. This finding contributes to increase the knowledge on the geographical distribution range of this actiniarian in the Mediterranean basin.

Keywords: marine biodiversity, Mediterranean sea, rising seawater temperature, species distribution, Telmatactis cricoides