| Protanthea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sea loch anemone | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Order: | Actiniaria |
| Family: | Gonactiniidae |
| Genus: | Protanthea Carlgren, 1891 |
| Species: | P. simplex |
| Binomial name | |
| Protanthea simplex Carlgren, 1891 | |
| Synonyms | |
(Genus)
(Species)
| |
Protanthea simplex is a species of sea anemone found in deep water off the coasts of north west Europe. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Protanthea.
P. simplex is a delicate sea anemone. The tentacles are non-retractable and have a frosty appearance and are usually held outstretched. The column is salmon pink, flared below the tentacles and reaches lengths of up to two centimetres. It has a flattened, lightly adherent base bulging out below the pedal disc. There are up to 200 slender, translucent, white or pale pink tentacles up to one and a half centimetres long arranged in five rings. When the orangeish-pink gonads are ripe, they may be visible through the wall of the column. [1] [2]
This species is found in both shallow and deep water around the western coast of Scotland from the Firth of Clyde northward, particularly in sea lochs. It is also found round the coasts of the Skagerrak and northern Kattegat and in one location in Connemara, Galway, Ireland. It seems to prefer vertical rock faces in sheltered sites with little movement of water and has been found as deep as five hundred metres. [1]
This species is a passive suspension feeder. It is often solitary but it has been recorded at densities of up to two thousand per square metre. It shows an unusual behaviour when occasionally it loses muscle tone and hangs limply from its pedal disc attachment. [1] At other times it is very active, exhibiting a violent thrashing of the tentacles in response to external stimuli. [3]
Reproduction can be by sexual or asexual means. In sexual reproduction, eggs and sperm are ejected through the mouth and liberated into the sea. The fertilised egg develops into a planula, which settles after fifteen to twenty days and grows into a new individual. In asexual reproduction, fragments of the column are capable of regenerating into new individuals. [4]
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.
Heteractis magnifica, also known by the common names magnificent sea anemone or Ritteri anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the Stichodactylidae family native to the Indo-Pacific area.
The starlet sea anemone is a species of small sea anemone in the family Edwardsiidae native to the east coast of the United States, with introduced populations along the coast of southeast England and the west coast of the United States. Populations have also been located in Nova Scotia, Canada. This sea anemone is found in the shallow brackish water of coastal lagoons and salt marshes where its slender column is usually buried in the mud and its tentacles exposed. Its genome has been sequenced and it is cultivated in the laboratory as a model organism, but the IUCN has listed it as being a "Vulnerable species" in the wild.
Corynactis californica is a brightly colored colonial anthozoan corallimorph. Unlike the Atlantic true sea anemone, Actinia fragacea, that bears the same common name, strawberry anemone, this species is a member of the order Corallimorpharia, and is the only member found in the North American West Coast. Other common names include club-tipped anemone and strawberry corallimorpharian. The anemone can live up to at least 50 meters deep on vertical rock walls, and at the bottom of kelp forests. It is known to carpet the bottom of some areas, like Campbell River in British Columbia, and Monterey Bay in California.
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.
Rhodactis howesii is a species of marine cnidarian in the order Corallimorpharia, a sea anemone-like corallimorph found on reefs in tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the green fuzzy mushroom, elephant ear mushroom coral, giant anemone, giant mushroom anemone and giant cup mushroom. This species is toxic when eaten raw and ingestion can cause fatal poisoning.
Epiactis prolifera, the brooding, proliferating or small green anemone, is a species of marine invertebrate in the family Actiniidae. It is found in the north-eastern Pacific. It has a feature rare among animals in that all individuals start life as females but develop testes later in their lives to become hermaphrodites.
Metridium senile, or frilled anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Metridiidae. As a member of the genus Metridium, it is a type of plumose anemone and is found in the seas off north-western Europe and both the east and west coasts of North America.
Metridium farcimen is a species of sea anemone in the family Metridiidae. It is commonly known as the giant plumose anemone or white-plumed anemone. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska down to Catalina Island, California.
Actinia bermudensis, the red, maroon or stinging anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae.
Calliactis tricolor, the tricolor anemone or hitchhiking anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Hormathiidae. It occurs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It can be found attached to rocks but is often attached to a living crab or mollusc or an empty shell occupied by a hermit crab.
Cerianthus lloydii is a species of tube-dwelling sea anemone in the family Cerianthidae. It is sometimes called the lesser cylinder anemone and is found in shallow seas around the coasts of north west Europe.
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.
Anthothoe albocincta, or white-striped anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae. It is native to the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Anthopleura artemisia is a species of sea anemone. It is known by a number of common names, including burrowing anemone and moonglow anemone. It was first described to science in 1846 in a volume by James Dwight Dana, reporting on the animals found on the United States Exploring Expedition. Dana attributes the description to Charles Pickering, who was a naturalist on the expedition.