About Bunodactis verrucosa (Pennant, 1777)
This species is currently classified as Bunodactis verrucosa (Pennant, 1777), and is also referenced as Aulactinia verrucosa in the source description. It has a cylindrical body that is wider at the base than at the crown. The base can grow up to 25 mm (1 inch) wide, and the column reaches up to 50 mm (2 inches) tall. The walls of the column are covered in wart-like tubercles called verrucae. Above the column, there are up to 48 tentacles, arranged in six cycles. The column is pink or grey, the tubercles are grey or white, and the tentacles are transparent and banded with pink, grey or olive. This species is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Its northern range extends to Shetland and western Scotland, and it occurs all around the coasts of Ireland. It inhabits rocky shores, found in areas with both strong currents and calmer waters. It lives in crevices and rock pools, often among calcified red algae of the genus Corallina, and can also attach to rock beneath the sediment in rock pools.
