Sea strawberry (Umiichigo) - Bellonella rubra

Japanese: ウミイチゴ(海苺) - ウミイチゴ（英語表記）Bellonella rubra

A coelenterate (cnidaria) of the family Alcyonidae in the class Anthozoa. It is found in various locations along the coasts of Sagami Bay, the Seto Inland Sea, and the Sea of Japan, and lives on sandy seabeds at depths of 5m or more. Large polyps grow densely in rod-shaped colonies about 2-8cm in height and 1.5cm in diameter, and attach at their bases to gravel or shells. The polyps are contained within blood-red capsules, and when they stretch, they reach a height of about 5mm before retracting completely into the capsule. Each polyp is surrounded by eight rows of red spindle-shaped bone fragments, and the stomach cavity penetrates the coenchyma to reach the stalk.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

花虫綱ウミトサカ科の腔腸動物(刺胞動物)。相模湾，瀬戸内海，日本海沿岸の各地に分布し，水深5m以深の砂質海底にすむ。大型のポリプが密生して高さ2～8cm，径1.5cmくらいの棒状の群体をつくり，根部で砂れきや貝殻などに付着する。ポリプは血紅色の莢部（きようぶ）の中にあって，のびると高さ5mmほどになり，また莢部の中に完全にひっこむ。各ポリプは8列の赤い紡錘形の骨片でつつまれ，胃腔は共肉内を貫通して柄に達する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Sea slug (Urido) - Urido (English spelling) sea slug

>>: Marine iguana - Umiiguana (English spelling)