Sea Angel Clione limacina Sea butterflies are related to sea slugs and snails, but they are unique in this group because they constantly swim or drift in the open water instead of being a slow-moving resident of the seafloor. As an adaptation to this pelagic life, sea...
White Sea Urchin Gracilechinus acutus The white sea urchin is a species of sea urchin and is commonly known as the white sea urchin in English or long-spine sea urchin in other European languages. It is found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It...
Red cushion starfish Porania pulvillus The red cushion star is a chubby starfish species that with a thick central disk and five short and fleshy arms. The surface is smooth and slimy to the touch. It is found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to...
Projects Limanda limanda Dab is small compared to other flatfishes of commercial importance, usually between 20 and 35 cm in total length. The largest individual found in Icelandic waters was 49 cm, which is a world record. Distribution The dab is exclusively a...
Bivalves Heteranomia squamula Most bivalves bury into sandy or muddy bottoms for protection. Some live on much more special surface. The prickly jingle attaches itself to rocks, other shells or other solid material. Both shells usually look the same in bivalves, but...
Crustaceans Mysida The mysids are similar to krill or small shrimps or in appearance and size, but are only distantly related to them. The main thing that sets them apart is some kind of pouch under the female body where they store the eggs. In zooplankton samples,...
Projects Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis Sea urchins have a hard and rigid exoskeleton. They are also covered with spines for protection. They are grazers or detritus feeders. Two species of echinoderms have been harvested in Icelandic waters, green sea urchin and...
Projects Clupea harengus The herring is the most abundant fish in the North Atlantic. It is commonly between 30 and 40 cm length; the largest herring measured in Icelandic waters was 46.5 cm, which might be a world record. It can reach up to 25 years of age....
Invertebrates Nephrops norvegicus This species is also frequently called nephrops lobster and sometimes also langoustine or scampi. Distribution This lobster is widespread in the northeast Atlantic, from the mid part of Norway and south into the Mediterranean Sea. In...
Starfishes Crossaster papposus Unlike all other starfishes in Icelandic waters, the sunstars have more than five arms (see also the purple sunstar). In fact, the number of arms differ by individuals, in the common sunstar they are usually 10 to 12. The common sunstar...
Starfishes Solaster endeca The purple sunstar is also called the northern sunstar. Unlike most other starfishes in Iceland (except for the common sunstar), the purple sunstar has more than five arms. In fact, they differ by individual but are usually 8 to 10. It can...
Starfishes Henricia sanguinolenta The blood star is a small or medium sized starfish that can be beautifully red or purple in colour. It is slim and the skin relatively smooth compared to the common starfish. The blood star lives in the entire northern hemisphere,...
Projects Pleuronectes platessa Plaice is a medium sized flatfish. It has a smooth skin as opposed to, for example, dab and long rough dab. It is recognized by the red or orange spots on the otherwise dark back, the underside is white. The maximum recorded size is 100...
Crustaceans Cirripedia Only one group of crustaceans are sessile, the barnacles. Their appearance is so special that many people do not realize that they are crustaceans. Because they make shells, many people rather associate them with the totally unrelated molluscs....
Bivalves Serripes groenlandicus Several large bivalve species in Icelandic waters could be harvested if found in sufficient quantities. That applies to the Greenland cockle. It lives for the most part buried in soft bottom sediments in shallow seas to a depth of about...
Invertebrates Testudinalia testudinalis Some snail species are not particularly snail like. The limpets are different from other slugs in that the shell is cap-shaped but not coiled. Their underside is like a suction cup and they use that to attach themselves to rocks...
Algae Laminaria hyperborea The tangle is the largest kelp species in Iceland. It can grow up to five meters in length and up to 20 years old. It has a long leafless stem and a large blade at the end of the stem that divides into many parts. The stalk is big and strong...
Cnidarians Metridium senile The frilled anemone resembles a beautiful flower but is really an animal. Anemones are common on the hard bottom types around Iceland and the frilled anemone is one of the most common. The frilled anemone has very fine and delicate arms and...
Cnidarians Urticina felina The dahlia anemone is not a flower or a plant, it is an animal and it is a predator. However, similar to some plants (such as the nettle), people can also burn themselves by touching the anemones. The dahlia anemone is a cnidarian like...
Invertebrates Polynoidae Scale worms are bristle worms that do not look much like worms, as they are flat, broad and often hairy. As their name implies they are covered by scales along their entire back for protection. They do not bury into the sediment as most other...
Projects Hippoglossoides platessoides The long rough dab is one of the most widely distributed and possibly the most plentiful of Icelandic flatfish. Distribution The long rough dab is usually found on muddy or sandy bottoms but also on other bottom types. It is...
Starfishes Asterias rubens Starfishes do not seem particularly cruel at first sight. However, this is very misleading as most are actually vicious predators that live on other invertebrates, especially bivalves. They kill the bivalve by attaching suction feet, which...
Invertebrates Polychaeta Bristle worms are very common in the ocean and many are large and conspicuous. If you find a worm on the seashore, it is most likely a bristle worm. All of them have appendages (called parapodia) and bristles (hairs) on the appendages. These...
Invertebrates Nudibranchia Nudibranchs are a colourful and varied group of molluscs. In fact, they are sea slugs that have gotten rid of their shells. Instead, they protect themselves by being distasteful or poisonous. The colour is in fact a warning sign. They want...
Invertebrates Lebbeus polaris The polar shrimp is one of many shrimp species that thrive in Icelandic waters. It is not harvested as the cold-water prawns, but some will say it is more beautiful. As the name implies, the polar shrimp prefers cold seas, so it is...
Invertebrates Amphipda The scuds are probably the best known and the most common crustaceans from the seashore. If rocks or pebbles are overturned, beach fleas (Gammarus spp.) can been seen wriggling around. Many species of scuds are known from all depths in Icelandic...
Crustaceans Paguroidea In contrast to most other crustaceans, hermit crabs have a soft and delicate body. In order to protect themselves from enemies, they live in empty snail shells they carry with them. It was believed that hermit crabs did not kill the snail to get...
Bony fishes Hippoglossus hippoglossus The Atlantic halibut is among the largest of bony fishes in the world with a maximum recorded size of 4.7 m. The largest in Icelandic water measured 3.56 m. Common size in catches is 30-150 cm. Distribution It is found over most...
Invertebrates Hyas spp. The most common crabs in Iceland are the lesser spider crab (Hyas coarctatus) and the great spider crab (Hyas araneus). They are very similar in appearance, but the larger one will be much larger as the name suggests (most, if not all of the...
Invertebrates Carcinus maenas The European green crab is a small, usually greenish, crab species that is common in Icelandic waters. It is particularly common along the warmer south coast of Iceland, but has also recently been found in colder seas on the north coast....
Invertebrates Munididae The squat lobsters are related to hermit crabs but have a hard shell and do not need an empty snail shell for cover. The squat lobsters look a bit like lobsters but are much smaller. Squat lobsters are common on hard bottoms all around Iceland....
Invertebrates Pandalus spp. Many shrimp (or prawn) species are found aound Iceland, but only one is fished, the northern prawn (Pandalus borealis). However, its smaller cousin, the Aesop prawn (Pandalus montagui) seen here is sometimes a by-catch. The Aesop prawn is...
Invertebrates Bryozoa Moss animals (bryozoan) are animals as the name suggests, but very similar to plants, as the name also indicates. Each moss animal individual is tiny, but they always form colonies. These colonies look like plants like the colonies of many other...
Invertebrates Ophiuroidea Brittle stars are closely related to starfishes but smaller and more mobile. They have a circular central plate with five narrow arms extending from the plate. They can walk on these arms and are therefore more mobile compared to other...
Invertebrates Isopoda Isopods are similar in size as related amphipods. The groups, however, can be distinguished by the fact that amphipods are usually tall and narrow (except for the skeleton shrimps) but the isopods are usually low and wide. Isopods can be found...
Comb jellies Ctenophora Comb jellies look like jelly fishes but are unrelated and usually smaller. The most common species look like barrels or balls with eight rows of cilia along their entire body. These move synchronized for swimming. The comb jellies are efficient...
Invertebrates Tunicata Of all invertebrates, the tunicates (urochordata) are the closest relatives to humans. There is no resemblance in adult tunicates. However, the larvae stage is very unlike the adult stage and looks like a tadpole. Tunicates are in fact in the...
Invertebrates Mytilus edulis The blue mussel is widely distributed all around Iceland. It is purely a seashore or shallow water species, found from the seashore down to depths of a few metres. It is attached to the bottom by filaments called byssus threads. It is...
Invertebrates Modiolus modiolus The northern horse mussel is very similar to the blue mussel in appearance but is considerably larger. Their ways of living are similar, as they are closely related. The horse mussel is found all around the country, but are generally...
Projects Amblyraja radiata The starry ray is a small ray species, usually between 40 and 70 cm long, but can reach up to 100 cm. Distribution It is found all around Iceland and is in fact one of the most widely distributed fish in Icelandic waters. It is common at a...
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