(photos of Neil McDaniel: specimens from British Columbia, Canada)
This spectacular species is common in British Columbia. In numerous guides and websites it is wrongly labelled as Cribrinopsis fernaldi. In our recent paper we showed that the specimens traditionally identified from this region as Cribrinopsis fernaldi represent two distinct species which differ in morphology and habitat. One species, the true Cribrinopsis fernaldi, has longer tentacles, a ring of distinct marginal spherules, usually prefers muddy bottom and has a white column. The other, previously unnamed species, which photos are on this webpage, has shorter tentacles, no marginal spherules, prefers rocky substrates and is brightly coloured (usually variations of red and only occasionally white). Existence of two distinct sympatric species is supported by the molecular analysis. In our paper we provide its description as a new species, its current name is Cribrinopsis rubens.
