Cornish Biodiversity Network - Supporting Wildlife Recording
The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Habitat & Distribution
Syn. Cepola rubescens Linnaeus. This species lives in vertical burrows in stiff mud at depths of 15-200m. It is also occasionally found swimming in mid-water and caught by anglers. It is restricted mainly to the south-western coasts of England and Wales but it is found along the western sea-board of Europe to north-west Scotland. Very few populations are known around the British Isles, but at least two reasonably-sized populations are known from the south coast of Cornwall.
Threats
Both of the Cornish populations exist in areas which are relatively rich fishing grounds. Fishing, especially beam-trawling, poses a definite but unavoidable threat to this species.
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.