Halecium muricatum
species of cnidarian
Halecium muricatum, commonly known as the sea hedgehog hydroid, is a species of hydrozoan in the family Haleciidae. It occurs mainly in arctic and northern temperate waters, in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Description
Halecium muricatum is a colonial hydrozoan. It is arborescent, forming stiff bushy colonies usually between 80 and 130 mm (3 and 5 in) in height but sometimes 200 mm (8 in). The main stems are robust and mostly straight, with a few large side branches diverging irregularly, each forming an angle of 30° with the main stem. Finer tertiary branches are formed as the polyps each elongate and bud new polyps on alternate sides of the often single plane branch; there is a clearly defined node between each segment. Gonothecae (reproductive structures) develop on the stem and main branches; both male and female gonathecae are ovate and covered with rows of spines and appear identical. The colony is typically yellowish.
Distribution and habitat
Halecium muricatum is found in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean. It is mainly an arctic and northern temperate species and is present in Greenland and Iceland.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Halecium muricatum” as species of cnidarian. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of cnidarian. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 29, 2021. The linked authority identifier is Q2475381. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Halecium muricatum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.