The juwel anemone Corynactis viridis, a new order for the Netherlands (Cnidaria: Corallimorpharia)

During an expedition with scuba-divers to the Dutch part of the Brown Ridge in the central North Sea in June 2013, two colonies of the jewel anemone Corynactis viridis were found on the wreck Anna Graebe. With the jewel anemone both a new species and a new animal order, the Corallimorpharia, are added to the autochthonous fauna of the Netherlands. This species typically occurs in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast from Portugal and the west British Isles up to Shetland. As other records of settled colonies of C. viridis in the North Sea were recently reported from Belgian, German and English waters, it is concluded that the jewel anemone, which used to be known as an occasional visitor, should now be considered autochthonous in the North Sea.