An Post issued a further eight stamps for its Irish Animals and Marine Life definitive series, illustrating Ireland’s biodiversity from the seabed to the mountain top. Biodiversity is an all-encompassing term used to describe the variety of all life and natural processes on Earth.

The species featured on this strip are: the Cushion Star, the Red Tube Worm, the European Eel and the Common Seal.

The Cushion Star is one of the most common echinoderms found on Irish shores. Its small size (rarely more than 3cm across), and its habit of living under rocks makes it difficult to find. It feeds on barnacles, sedentary worms and other encrusting animals.

The Red Tube Worm thrives on rocks, shells and other hard surfaces in the sublittoral zone or below. Its body has 200 segments with the crown consisting of as many as 70 tentacles and may grow to a length of 7cm.

The European Eel has a fascinating life-cycle that involves an incredible two-way migration across the Atlantic Ocean. It feeds on a wide variety of prey, and will eat almost anything smaller than itself. Females are generally larger than males, reaching lengths of a metre or more and with a maximum recorded weight of 6.6kg.

The Common Seal is a carnivorous hunter with a large and varied diet. It can dive for long periods into deep waters, although in Ireland its dives are generally short and are usually conducted in waters not more than 70m deep. The males are known as bulls and are larger and heavier than the females which are known as cows. Mature bulls can be up to 2m in length and weigh up to 150kg.

Source: Irish Post

published August 12th, 2013