Identity:

Mixed muddy gravel and sand often in tide-swept narrows in the entrances or sills of sealochs with beds or 'nests' of Limaria hians. The Limaria form woven 'nests' or galleries from byssus and fragments of seaweeds so that the animals themselves cannot be seen from above the seabed. Modiolus modiolus sometimes occur at the same sites lying over the top of the Limaria bed. Other fauna associated with this biotope include echinoderms (Ophiothrix fragilis, Ophiocomina nigra and Asterias rubens), Buccinum undatum, mobile crustaceans (e.g. Pagurus bernhardus), Alcyonium digitatum and hydroids such as Plumularia setacea, Kirchenpaueria pinnata and Nemertesia spp. Sometimes red seaweeds such as Phycodrys rubens occur if the beds are in shallow enough water.