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.
Urticina crassicornis, commonly known as the mottled anemone, the painted anemone or the Christmas anemone, is a large and common intertidal and subtidal sea anemone. Its habitat includes a large portion of the coastal areas of the northern hemisphere, mainly polar regions, and it lives a solitary life for up to 80 years. Mottled anemones are similar to Dahlia anemones and both are commonly referred to as northern red anemones.
Sea anemones are the marine, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria. They are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant, because of the colourful appearance of many. 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.
Condylactis gigantea is a tropical species of ball anemone that is found in shallow reefs and other shallow inshore areas in the Caribbean Sea – more specifically the West Indies – and the western Atlantic Ocean including southern Florida through the Florida Keys. It is also commonly known as: giant Caribbean sea anemone, giant golden anemone, condylactis anemone, Haitian anemone, pink-tipped anemone, purple-tipped anemone, and Florida condy. This species can easily be seen growing in lagoons or in inner reefs as either individuals or loose groups, but never as colonies. They are often used as a model organism along with others in their genus for facultative symbiosis with monocellular algae.
Sagartia troglodytes is a species of sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae, also known as the mud sagartia or the cave-dwelling anemone.
Actinia bermudensis, the red, maroon or stinging anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae.
The thinstripe hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic Ocean.
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.
Oulactis muscosa, also known as the sand anemone and speckled anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae.
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.
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.
Diadumene cincta is a small and delicate, usually orange, sea anemone. It has a smooth slender column and up to 200 long tentacles, and normally grows to a length of up to 35 mm (1.4 in), with a base of 10 mm (0.4 in), but specimens twice this size have been recorded. Diadumene cincta is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
Actinothoe sphyrodeta, the sandalled anemone, is a small sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and is common on the north, west and south coasts of Britain. It is usually grey or whitish but may have an orange oral disc. The translucent white tentacles that grow around the edge of the oral disc can number up to 120.
Diadumene leucolena, commonly known as the white anemone or ghost anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Diadumenidae. It is an inconspicuous species found in the intertidal and subtidal areas of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the northern Pacific Ocean. Diadumene, "diadem-bearer", referring to the crown of tentacles, is a female form intended to bring to mind the Diadumenos, the renowned Greek sculpture of an athlete crowning himself with the victor's ribbon diadem.
Diopatra cuprea, commonly known as the plumed worm, decorator worm or sometimes ornate worm, is a species of polychaete worm in the family Onuphidae, first described by the French entomologist Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc in 1802. It is native to the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Aulactinia veratra, the green snakelock anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. It is native to the southeastern Indian Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
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.
Bunodosoma californicum is a species of sea anemone. Is was first described to science by Oskar Carlgren in 1951. The type specimen that Carlgren used to describe the species was collected by Ed Ricketts in Puerto Escondido during his trip to the Gulf of California with John Steinbeck recounted in The Log From the Sea of Cortez.
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.
