Description: The thin yellow stems support pink polyps (similar to anemones) to a height of 10-15cm. Often these polyps are eaten by other marine organisms and the stems cluster together at the base.
Location: Oaten pipes are the most common species on the wreck. They are mostly found in areas with a high level of water movement such as on the edges of the wreck and on some surfaces of the engine.
Description: "Marine Turf" is a term used to describe dense populations of plant-like animals such as hydroids and bryozoans. Together these animals form a moss-like growth about 2-6cm tall. Both hydroids and bryozoans live as colonies and they feed off minute particles suspended in the water column.
Location: A covering of 'marine turf' grows on and around the horizontal funnel segment and on other vertical surfaces.
Place your cursor over each image for information on the anemones you may find on Iona II.
Description: This species has a cylindrical body of up to 30cm high supporting a plume of numerous tentacles. Plumose anemones come in a variety of colours most commonly either white or orange. Location: This is the most common anemone on the wreck. These anemones are usually found in clusters on hard substrates such as rocks or wrecks and have been found on the forward and aft frames of the Iona II as well as on the aft boilers.
Description: This small anemone usually has a squat cylindrical column of about 2cm diameter with translucent white and dirty white straps which are responsible for its name.On top of the column are up to 120 irregularly arranged tentacles that taper to fine points. The centre disc of this anemone can either be white or yellow. Location: Sandalled anemones are usually found in clusters and are found in patches on the ribs and on some vertical surfaces left unoccupied by hydroids.
Description: This small clonal organism has a smooth column up to 15mm in height and diameter and commonly occur in large numbers of one colour. Location: These organisms are found in areas of strong water current on vertical surfaces and in thick densities on downward-facing surfaces such as the base of funnel lying on the portside of the wreck and the port forward boilers and portside crankshaft.
Description: This solitary coral has an internal limestone skeleton in the shape of a cup into which they can retract and hide. They have transparent tentacles with spherical knobs on the ends and stripes of bright blue and green can be seen between the tentacles. This type of cup coral can vary in colour from white, pink, green or brown
Location: On the Iona II, these solitary organisms were present on vertical and horizontal surfaces of the wreck in high densities.
Description: These colourless animals have short tentacles with prominent knobbed tips and consist of singular small solitary cups which are taller than their 5-7mm diameter.
Location: This very rare species has only had one colony spotted on the Iona II wreck. These animals can usually be found on vertical or overhanging rock faces in small groups.
Description: The Pink sea fan is a type of soft coral which is actually a colony of many animals joined together. This allows better access to food particles passing by in the water. This species is extremely slow growing, increasing only 10mm a year.
Location: Their preferred substrate is a stable structure such as rocks or a wreck and in an area of gentle current to allow them to obtain nutrients. Pink sea fans are very rare and only occasionally seen on the wreck. Pink fans have suffered from being seaside souvenirs in the mid-20th century and those around Lundy have also been affected by a bacteriological disease in the 2000s. It is now an offence, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, to harm these organisms.
Description: The Crater sponge can grow up to 1cm thick and 30cm across.
Location: Small numbers of sponges have previously been identified on the horizontal surfaces of the wreck. A few other examples of sponges were found on the Iona II but any individuals were quite small. Species of sponges were: Suberites domuncula, Raspailia ramose and Dysidea fragilis,
Description: Nudibranchs are soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs and are noted for their bright colours and unusual forms. They are usually quite small, only 2-4cm long.
Location: On the Iona II they have mainly been spotted feeding on Oaten pipe hydroids.
Description: The body of the Common lobster is dark blue and can be up to 75cm. This organism has eight walking legs, long red antennae and two large claws, one for cutting and one for crushing.
Location: This is a very common species all around the coast of Britain. Lobsters are normally found amongst boulders as they like to find shelter. This is why several lobsters have been sighted under the boilers on the Iona II.
Description: Also known as the European spider crab, this is a migratory crustacean that usually travels in the autumn. The body is reddish brown bordered with spines and has long spidery legs. Shell width can be up to 20cm. Their diet is quite varied and includes seaweeds, molluscs, sea urchins and sea cucumbers.
Location: Several spiny spider crabs have been seen on the wreck site.
Description: These members of the cod family, have a deep body and are usually 20-30cm long. They have a distinct chin barbell and are most easily recognised by their pale copper colour with four to five darker vertical bands on either side. They have 3 dorsal fins, one of which is triangular and two anal fins. Location: Shoals of Bib are often found around wrecks such as Iona II.
Description: There are several hundred species of wrasse within this family and they are very diverse in appearance however the common characteristics are that they are brightly coloured and on the smaller size around 20-30cm. Location: Several wrasse have been seen on the wreck particularly Goldsinny wrasse.
Description: Conger eels have a long cylindrical body that can be 2-3m long. They have smooth scaleless skin which is slatey blue but lighter on the underside. Location: Congers prefer to live in holes in rocks or wrecks and one is known to live on the MV Robert and visits the Iona II wreck occasionally.