Sea anemone: general characteristics

Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 23 January 2021
Update Date: 19 May 2024
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Class Anthozoa (Phylum Cnidaria) #Sea anemones #Corals # Coral Reefs
Video: Class Anthozoa (Phylum Cnidaria) #Sea anemones #Corals # Coral Reefs

Content

THE sea ​​anemone, despite its appearance and name, it is not a plant. They are invertebrate animals with flexible bodies that cling to reefs and rocks in shallow water, multicellular organisms. Despite ranking in the Animalia kingdom, these actniarias they do not have a skeleton, unlike corals, which can be confused with seaweed due to their appearance. The nickname sea anemone comes from its resemblance to flowers, namesakes, anemones.

And that's not all. It may not look like it, but the sea anemone bears more resemblance to a human being than meets the eye. That's because, according to an interview by Dan Rokhsar, professor of genetics at the University of California, Berkeley, to the BBC [1] they are the simplest animals known to have a nervous system.


Genetically it is almost as complex as a human being. Despite being an invertebrate animal, the genome of some species of sea anemones has only two thousand genes than the human genome and chromosomes organized in a pattern similar to our species, according to a report published by G1 [2], which clarifies a study carried out by researchers at the University of California, Berkley, and published in the scientific journal Science. Want to know more about these marine animals? In this post by PeritoAnimal we prepared a dossier on sea ​​anemone: general characteristics and trivia you need to know!

sea ​​anemone

Its scientific name is actinia, sea anemone, is actually the noun used to refer to a group of animals of the class of Anthozoan cnidarians. There are more than a thousand species of sea anemones and their size varies from a few centimeters to a few meters.


What is a sea anemone?

Is sea anemone an animal or a plant? Taxonomically it is an animal. Your rating is as follows:

  • Scientific name: actinaria
  • top ranking: Hexacorally
  • Classification: Order
  • Kingdom: animalia
  • Phylum: Cnidaria
  • Class: Anthozoa.

Sea Anemone Characteristics

To the naked eye, the appearance of a sea anemone can be very reminiscent of a flower or seaweed, due to its long colored tentacles. Its body is cylindrical, as is the body structure of all cnidarians. Another striking feature is its pedal disc, which allows it to adhere to the substrate so that it is not carried away by the current.


Despite being an invertebrate animal, the sea anemone draws attention for its non-bilateral radial symmetry, like vertebrates. Scientifically, sea anemones do not age, in other words, they are immortal. What justifies this fame is their ability to regenerate (tentacles, mouth and other parts of the body), their cells are constantly being replaced by new ones, according to a report published on the BBC [1]. Predators and adverse conditions, however, are not manageable for a sea anemone.

  • Invertebrates;
  • It resembles a flower;
  • Solitary;
  • Size: a few centimeters to a few meters;
  • Long tentacles;
  • Cylindrical body;
  • Pedal disc;
  • Non-bilateral radial symmetry;
  • Regeneration capacity.

Sea anemone habitat

Unlike other marine animals, sea anemones can be found both in cold water seas as tropical waters, predominantly on the surface, where there is light, or even 6 meters deep. Their cavities allow them to store water and survive periods out of water, such as at low tide or in other situations.

Symbiosis with other species

They usually live in symbiosis with algae that carry out photosynthesis, producing oxygen and sugar consumed by anemones. These algae, in turn, feed on catabolites from anemones. Some cases of mutualism of sea anemones with other species are also known, as is the coexistence with clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris), it is immune to sea anemone toxins and lives among its tentacles, in addition to some species of shrimp.

Sea anemone feeding

Despite their appearance of 'harmless' plants, they are considered animals and feed on small fish, molluscs and crustaceans. In this process, they 'grab' them, inject poison through their tentacles, which paralyzes the fangs and then takes them to their mouth, which is the same orifice that serves as an anus.

Therefore, in an aquarium, it is necessary to study the species and know that the anemone is a predator of small animals that do not live in symbiosis with it. See more tips in the post that explains why aquarium fish die.

Reproduction of sea anemones

Some species are hermaphrodites and others have separate sexes. Sea anemone reproduction can be sexual or asexual, depending on the species. Both sperm, in the case of males, and the egg are expelled through the mouth.

If you want to read more articles similar to Sea anemone: general characteristics, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.