Marine life of the Gouliot Caves
On 8 April 2012, on one of the lowest tides of the year, five ecologists from the Porcupine Marine Natural History Society walked into the Gouliot Caves and recorded 73 species for La Société Sercquaise, guided by Sue Daly. This is their list.
The caves have been surveyed since 1885, and across five surveys 190 species have been recorded, only 7 of them found every single time, the jewel anemone and the oaten pipe hydroid among them. The 2012 survey found the Jewel cave matching the same community every earlier survey had described, which suggests the cave a visitor sees today is recognisably the one Victorian naturalists recorded.
The Gouliot Headland and Caves were designated Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 2007, the only sea caves in the British Isles with that recognition. The full cave system can only be reached on foot on a good spring tide, so check the tides and take local advice before you go.
Seven species have been found in every survey of the caves since 1885, and they are marked in the lists below.
Some entries are identified to genus or family only, exactly as in the survey.
Sponges
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Clathria atrasanguinea (Bowerbank, 1862) | |
| Boring sponge In every survey since 1885 | Cliona celata Grant, 1826 |
| Black tar sponge | Dercitus bucklandi (Bowerbank, 1858) |
| Goosebump sponge | Dysidea fragilis (Montagu, 1818) |
| Purse sponge | Grantia compressa (Fabricius, 1780) |
| Breadcrumb sponge In every survey since 1885 | Halichondria panicea (Pallas, 1766) |
| Hymeniacidon perleve (Montagu, 1818) | |
| Spiky lace sponge | Leucosolenia sp. Bowerbank, 1864 |
| Myxilla incrustans (Johnston, 1842) | |
| Elephant hide sponge In every survey since 1885 | Pachymatisma johnstonia (Bowerbank in Johnston, 1842) |
| Ciliated sponge | Sycon ciliatum (Fabricius, 1780) |
| Golf ball sponge | Tethya citrina Sara & Melone, 1965 |
Anemones, corals and hydroids
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Beadlet anemone In every survey since 1885 | Actinia equina (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Dead men's fingers In every survey since 1885 | Alcyonium digitatum Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Devonshire cup coral | Caryophyllia smithii Stokes & Broderip, 1828 |
| Jewel anemone In every survey since 1885 | Corynactis viridis Allman, 1846 |
| Dynamena sp. | |
| Plumose anemone | Metridium senile (Linnaeus, 1761) |
| Sagartia elegans var. miniata | |
| Sagartia elegans var. venusta (Dalyell, 1848) | |
| Oaten pipe hydroid In every survey since 1885 | Tubularia indivisa Linnaeus, 1758 |
Molluscs
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Doris pseudoargus (Rapp, 1827) | |
| Painted topshell | Calliostoma zizyphinum (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Slipper limpet | Crepidula fornicata (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Facelina auriculata (Muller, 1776) | |
| Gibbula pennanti (Philippi, 1846) | |
| Purple topshell | Gibbula umbilicalis (da Costa, 1778) |
| Heteranomia squamula (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
| Lamellaria sp. Montagu, 1815 | |
| Small periwinkle | Melarhaphe neritoides (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Mussel | Mussel sp. |
| Thick-lipped dogwhelk | Nassarius incrassatus (Strom, 1768) |
| Dogwhelk | Nucella lapillus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Limpets | Patella sp. Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Placida dendritica (Alder & Hancock, 1843) | |
| Arctic cowrie | Trivia arctica (Pulteney, 1799) |
| Spotted cowrie | Trivia monacha (da Costa, 1778) |
Worms
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Brania pusilla (Dujardin, 1851) | |
| Eulalia viridis (Linnaeus, 1767) | |
| Filograna sp. Berkeley, 1835 | |
| Haplosyllis spongicola (Grube, 1855) | |
| Micromaldane ornithochaeta Mesnil, 1897 | |
| Proceraea picta Ehlers, 1864 | |
| Salmacina dysteri Huxley, 1885 |
Ribbon worms
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Nemertea sp. |
Crustaceans and sea spiders
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Balanus crenatus Bruguiere, 1789 | |
| Volcano barnacle | Balanus perforatus Bruguiere, 1789 |
| Edible crab | Cancer pagurus Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Sea spider | Pycnogonid sp. |
| Semibalanus balanoides (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Bryozoans
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Amathia lendigera (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
| Bugula flabellata (Thompson, in Gray, 1848) | |
| Crisia cornuta (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
| Crisia denticulata (Lamarck, 1816) |
Hydroids
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Diphasia spp. Agassiz, 1862 |
Starfish and urchins
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Spiny starfish | Marthasterias glacialis (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Sea squirts
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Club sea squirt | Aplidium punctum (Giard, 1873) |
| Star ascidian | Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766) |
| Gooseberry sea squirt | Dendrodoa grossularia (Van Beneden, 1846) |
| Didemnidae sp. Giard, 1872 | |
| Diplosoma sp. Macdonald, 1859 | |
| Distomus variolosus Gaertner, 1774 | |
| Club sea squirt | Morchellium argus (Milne-Edwards, 1841) |
| Pyura microcosmus (Savigny, 1816) |
Fish
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Tompot blenny | Parablennius gattorugine (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Seaweeds
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Bryopsis plumosa J.V.Lamouroux, 1809 | |
| Cladophora sp. Kutzing, 1843 | |
| Coral weed | Corallina sp. |
| Sea beech | Delesseria sanguinea (Hudson) J.V.Lamouroux, 1813 |
| Oar weed | Laminaria digitata (Hudson) J.V.Lamouroux, 1813 |
| False Irish moss | Mastocarpus stellatus (Stackhouse) Guiry, 1984 |
| Pepper dulse | Osmundea pinnatifida (Hudson) Stackhouse, 1809 |
| Dulse | Plumaria plumosa (Hudson) Kuntze, 1891 |
From the Intertidal Survey of the Gouliot Caves, 8 April 2012, by Fiona Crouch for the Porcupine Marine Natural History Society and La Société Sercquaise.
