| Aiptasia diaphana | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Actiniaria |
| Family: | Aiptasiidae |
| Genus: | Aiptasia |
| Species: | A. diaphana |
| Binomial name | |
| Aiptasia diaphana (Rapp, 1829) [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Aiptasia diaphana, commonly known as the yellow aiptasia or glasrose, is a species of sea anemone native to shallow waters in the temperate eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It has been introduced into the Red Sea.
Aiptasia diaphana is a small sea anemone with a base diameter of up to 30 mm (1.2 in), a column height of up to 50 mm (2.0 in) and an oral disc of 30 mm (1.2 in). The column is yellowish-brown or brownish-green, smooth and retractable. The colour is somewhat variable because symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) are sometimes present in the tissues. The oral disc is transparent and bears, round the rim, four or five whorls of slender, pointed tentacles making a total of up to 160 tentacles. These are translucent with white bases, a distinguishing feature of this species. [2]
Aiptasia diaphana is native to the Atlantic coast of Portugal, the Canary Islands and throughout the Mediterranean Sea and has been introduced to the Red Sea. It is found on hard surfaces at depths down to about 10 m (33 ft) and favours areas with poor water quality such as harbours and lagoons. It is often found at high densities. [2]
Aiptasia diaphana catches passing invertebrates, marine larvae and small fish with its tentacles, immobilising the prey with its cnidocytes (stinging cells). It also obtains nourishment from the zooxanthellae in its tissues. These photosynthetic algae manufacture carbohydrates in sunlight and these nutrients are available to the sea anemone. [2]
Aiptasia diaphana reproduces by both sexual and asexual reproduction and does so under different conditions. In the summer the main method is pedal laceration; the sea anemone crawls along the substrate and fragments of the base become detached, each fragment growing into a new individual, a clone of the parent. [3] Under laboratory conditions, an adult female can produce males, females and hermaphrodite individuals in this way. [3]
Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.
The aggregating anemone, or clonal anemone, is the most abundant species of sea anemone found on rocky, tide swept shores along the Pacific coast of North America. This cnidarian hosts endosymbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that contribute substantially to primary productivity in the intertidal zone. The aggregating anemone has become a model organism for the study of temperate cnidarian-algal symbioses.
Aiptasia is a genus of a symbiotic cnidarian belonging to the class Anthozoa. Aiptasia is a widely distributed genus of temperate and tropical sea anemones of benthic lifestyle typically found living on mangrove roots and hard substrates. These anemones, as well as many other cnidarian species, often contain symbiotic dinoflagellate unicellular algae of the genus Symbiodinium living inside nutritive cells. The symbionts provide food mainly in the form of lipids and sugars produced from photosynthesis to the host while the hosts provides inorganic nutrients and a constant and protective environment to the algae. Species of Aiptasia are relatively weedy anemones able to withstand a relatively wide range of salinities and other water quality conditions. In the case of A. pallida and A. pulchella, their hardiness coupled with their ability to reproduce very quickly and out-compete other species in culture gives these anemones the status of pest from the perspective of coral reef aquarium hobbyists. These very characteristics make them easy to grow in the laboratory and thus they are extensively used as model organisms for scientific study. In this respect, Aiptasia have contributed a significant amount of knowledge regarding cnidarian biology, especially human understanding of cnidarian-algal symbioses, a biological phenomenon crucial to the survival of corals and coral reef ecosystems. The dependence of coral reefs on the health of the symbiosis is dramatically illustrated by the devastating effects experienced by corals due to the loss of algal symbionts in response to environmental stress, a phenomenon known as coral bleaching.
The snakelocks anemone is a sea anemone found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The latter population is however sometimes considered a separate species, the Mediterranean snakelocks anemone.
Anemonia sulcata, or Mediterranean snakelocks sea anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae from the Mediterranean Sea. Whether A. sulcata should be recognized as a synonym of A. viridis remains a matter of dispute.
The starburst anemone or sunburst anemone is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. The sunburst anemone was formerly considered the solitary form of the common aggregating anemone, but was identified as a separate species in 2000.
Sea anemones are a group of predatory marine invertebrates of the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the Anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Hexacorallia. As cnidarians, sea anemones are related to corals, jellyfish, tube-dwelling anemones, and Hydra. Unlike jellyfish, sea anemones do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle.
Anthopleura xanthogrammica, or the giant green anemone, is a species of intertidal sea anemone of the family Actiniidae.
Berghia is a genus of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs. They are shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Aeolidiidae. They are covered in cerata which give them their unique tentacle look and color. Berghia are commonly found in shallow waters and their diet consists of strictly Aiptasia Anemone. This genus is now commonly used commercially to fight off Anemone populations in fish tanks.
Actinia bermudensis, the red, maroon or stinging anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae.
Bartholomea annulata is a species of sea anemone in the family Aiptasiidae, commonly known as the ringed anemone or corkscrew anemone. It is one of the most common anemones found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea.
Lebrunia coralligens, commonly known as the hidden anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Aliciidae. It is found in shallow water in the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Brazil. It lives in fissures in corals and rocks.
Anthopleura ballii, commonly known as the red speckled anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. It is found in shallow water in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
Anthopleura thallia, commonly known as the glaucous pimplet, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. It is found in shallow water in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
The Enthemonae is a suborder of sea anemones in the order Actiniaria. It comprises those sea anemones with typical arrangement of mesenteries for actiniarians.
Exaiptasia is a genus of sea anemone in the family Aiptasiidae, native to shallow waters in the temperate western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It is monotypic with a single species, Exaiptasia diaphana, and commonly known as the brown anemone, glass anemone, pale anemone, or simply as Aiptasia.
Corynactis viridis, the jewel anemone, is a brightly coloured anthozoan similar in body form to a sea anemone or a scleractinian coral polyp, but in the order Corallimorpharia. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and was first described by the Irish naturalist George Allman in 1846.
Mesacmaea mitchellii is a species of sea anemone in the family Haloclavidae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it burrows in soft sediment.
Aiptasia mutabilis, also known as the trumpet anemone, rock anemone, and glass anemone, is a species of anemone typically found attached to substrates in cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Its unique trumpet shape gives it its common name and it can grow to be 12 cm, having a column between 3 and 6 cm in size. Like many cnidarians, they rely on nematocysts for protection and to capture prey. They are not difficult to care for, and can be kept in a home aquarium, although due to their speed of reproduction, can quickly become overpopulated.
Actinostella flosculifera, the collared sand anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. It is found semi-immersed in the sediment in shallow water in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean.