First Record of the Zoanthid Savalia Savaglia (bertoloni, 1819) on the Atlantic French Coast of the Bay of Biscay (North-East Atlantic)

This work aims to report the presence of Savalia savaglia in the Bay of Biscay on the French Basque coast. This is the most northerly observation reported on the north-east Atlantic area and the first for the French Atlantic coast. Colonies were observed on a remarkable circalittoral habitat with the engineer species Paramuricea cf. grayi (Johnson, 1861), at a depth of about 35 m, also previously unknown in this area. A description of the colonies is given as well as the environmental parameters that condition their development. This work details the distribution area of this species in the north-east Atlantic and contributes to the conservation issues of the marine protected area "Rocky Basque coast and offshore extension". Furthermore, it is suggested that S. savalia be included in the list of protected species of the Atlantic coast in the same way as in the Mediterranean Sea.