Sea anemones (Cnidaria: Actiniaria) of the Faroe Islands: a preliminary list and biogeographic context

Abstract

We have identified 20 species of sea anemones (order Actiniaria) from BIOFAR material, eight of them new records for the Faroe Islands. This brings the total number of anemone species known thus far from the Faroes to 30. The Faroes shares six (or possibly only five) of those 30 species with Norway, Iceland, and the Shetland Islands, probably 10 (but possibly 11) with Norway and Iceland, two with Norway and the Shetlands, three with only Norway, three with only Iceland, and one with only the Shetlands. The other five species are known from elsewhere in the North Atlantic. They came from 69 of the 1,331 stations sampled in the BIOFAR program. Of the 20 species we identified, 10 were found at only one BIOFAR station, and no more than three were collected at any one site. Additional specimens, comprising perhaps 10 species from 66 more stations, await identification. Taxonomic issues impede clearly synthesizing the sea anemone biogeography of the Faroe Islands.