Sea Pen

ID points

• Shaped like a quill pen stuck into the sand
• A fleshy stalk at the lower end is buried in the sand as an anchor
• Gives off a blue-green glow when disturbed

Basics

Family

Pennatulacea

Length

10–60 cm

Depth

5-500 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic

Distribution

Sand and mud bottoms worldwide

Habitat

Soft sand and mud bottoms

Diet

Plankton

Easily confused with

Garden EelMost of the body buried in the sand, only the upper half standing outBlue StarfishEntirely saturated cobalt blue, with no other markingsCrown-of-Thorns StarfishA dozen to twenty arms, covered all over with long venomous spines

Fun fact

Shaped remarkably like an old-fashioned quill pen, it gives off a blue-green bioluminescence when disturbed. It is one of the most romantic glowing creatures of the deep.