Sea Anemone

Sea Anemones are also in the phylum Cnidaria just like the coral. And just like the coral, these are animals as well! Although they are named after a flowering plant, they too are living animals. With over 1,000 species, you can find sea anemones in a range of depths, but most are found in shallow tropical waters. Sea Anemones are just single polys that plant themselves on rock or soft sediment at their base using a sticky foot called a ‘pedal disc’ (if there ever comes a time where their home becomes unlivable they will slowly slide along the seafloor or float away to find a new home). Their body is shaped like a columnar truck topped with an oral disc. They have a ring of tentacles with a mouth that’s central. This species is able to retract their tentacles inside their body cavity when they feel threatened. When they are ready to catch prey they will expand their tentacles right back out. These tentacles are poisonous to other creatures. When a fish passes by their tentacles and touches them, the Sea Anemone senses them, shoots a nematocyst (stinging cell) into the fish, paralyzing them. Once the fish is stunned, the anemone will use its tentacles to guide it into its mouth (there are only a few that have stings that are harmful to humans). They are just like the coral from yesterday. Anemones also have a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae, as well as dinoflagellates and zoochlorellae that live in the anemone and assist them with living. The other symbiotic relationship they have with another species is the well known one, the clownfish (where Nemo lived!). Since the clownfish is covered in a mucus layer that protects them from the stings, it dwells here where other fish try to avoid. In turn, the sea anemone gets all of the scraps of food left behind from those clownfish without having to use any energy to hunt for food. The clownfish get a safe home and the sea anemone gets clean and free food! Win, Win!

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