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Actiniaria SEA ANEMONES Life Cnidaria Anthozoa |
IDnature guides |
Overview |
Sea anemones are flower-like Cnidarians that are widely distributed throughout the
world and reside in both shallow and deep waters. Sea Anemones remain attached to objects like rocks, coral, sometimes even hermit crabs, by anchoring themselves using an organ called the pedal disk.
They are single polyps and have tentacles around their mouths which, like all cnidarians, have nematocysts that have the ability to sting a variety of toxins into their prey (fish, mussels, zooplankton and worms).
They can have symbiotic relationships with several other organisms, the most well-known one being with the clownfish. The anemones sometimes provide a home and protection for clownfish. Of the 1104 valid species, only 10 host clownfish, which do not get stung by the anemones due to the layer of protective mucus on their skin. Some people in the Mediterranean and parts of the Indo-Pacific eat boiled and spiced anemones.
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Links to other sites |
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Acknowledgements |
Daphne G. Fautin | University of Kansas, Lawrence Research funded through The National Foundation of Science REU grant
John Pickering We thank Denise Lim for technical support in developing this page. |
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