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Higher taxa:  Life   Cnidaria   Anthozoa   IDnature guides: Groups_Cnidaria, Sea_anemones We parsed the following live from the Web into this page. Such content is managed by its original site and not cached on Discover Life. Please send feedback and corrections directly to the source. See original regarding copyrights and terms of use. CalPhotos

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© John Pickering, 2006-2009 Clown fish and sea anemones	© John Pickering, 2006-2009 Clown fish in sea anemone
© John Pickering, 2006-2009 Clown fish in sea anemone	© John Pickering, 2006-2009 Clown fish in sea anemone
© John Pickering, 2006-2009 Anthopleura xanthogrammica, center, Anthopleura sola, top left	© John Pickering, 2006-2009 Sea anemone
© John Pickering, 2006-2009 Sea anemones	© Public Domain Sea anemones at the aquarium in Bristol Zoo, Bristol, England

Kinds

Acontiophoridae Actinernidae Actiniidae -- Sea anemones, Brooding sea anemones Actinodendronidae Actinoscyphiidae -- Venus fly-trap anemone Actinostolidae Aiptasiomorphidae Aliciidae Andresiidae Andvakiidae Andwakiidae Aurelianiidae Bathyphellidae Bathyphelliidae Boloceroididae Condylanthidae Diadumenidae Discosomidae Edwardsiidae -- Burrowing anemones Exocoelactiidae Galatheanthemidae Gonactiniidae Halcampidae -- Burrowing anemones Halcampoididae Halcuriidae Haliactiidae Haliplanellidae Haloclavidae -- Parasitic anemones Homostichanthidae Hormathiidae Ilyanthidae Iosactiidae Isanthidae Isophelliidae -- White burrowing anemone Kadosactidae Limnactiniidae Liponematidae -- Tentacle-shedding anemone Metridiidae -- Pink clonal anemone, Gigantic anemone, Cloned plumose anemone Mimetriidae Minyadidae Nemanthidae Nevadneidae Octineonidae Oractiidae Paractidae Phymanthidae -- Beaded anemone Preactiidae Ptychodactiidae Sagartiidae Sagartiomorphidae Stichodactylidae -- Caribbean sun anemone Stoichactiidae Thalassianthidae -- Sea anemones

Overview

Sea anemones are flower-like Cnidarians that are widely distributed throughout the world and reside in both shallow and deep waters. Sea Anemones remain attached to objects like rocks, coral, sometimes even hermit crabs, by anchoring themselves using an organ called the pedal disk. They are single polyps and have tentacles around their mouths which, like all cnidarians, have nematocysts that have the ability to sting a variety of toxins into their prey (fish, mussels, zooplankton and worms). They can have symbiotic relationships with several other organisms, the most well-known one being with the clownfish. The anemones sometimes provide a home and protection for clownfish. Of the 1104 valid species, only 10 host clownfish, which do not get stung by the anemones due to the layer of protective mucus on their skin. Some people in the Mediterranean and parts of the Indo-Pacific eat boiled and spiced anemones.

Identification

IDnature guide to some species based on nematocysts

Phylogeny

Scientific name -- Common Name Cnidaria -- Corals, Hydra, Jellyfish, Sea anemones, Sea Pens Anthozoa -- Sea Anemones, Corals, Sea Pens Actiniaria -- Sea anemones Actinernidae Halcuriidae Andresiidae Andwakiidae Edwardsiidae Galatheanthemidae Halcampidae Haliactiidae Haloclavidae Ilyanthidae Limnactiniidae Octineonidae Boloceroididae Nevadneidae Acontiophoridae Actiniidae Actinodendronidae Actinoscyphiidae Actinostolidae Aiptasiidae Aiptasiomorphidae Aliciidae Aurelianidae Bathyphelliidae Condylanthidae Diadumenidae Discosomidae Exocoelactiidae Haliplanellidae Hormathiidae Iosactiidae Isophelliidae Liponematidae Metridiidae Minyadidae Nemanthidae Paractidae Phymanthidae Sagartiidae Sagartiomorphidae Stichodactylidae Thalassianthidae Gonactiniidae Preactiidae Ptychodactiidae

Links to other sites

Hexacorallians of the World, Kansas University Tree of Life web project -- Sea Anemone information

Acknowledgements

Daphne G. Fautin University of Kansas, Lawrence Research funded through The National Foundation of Science REU grant John Pickering University of Georgia, Athens We thank Denise Lim for technical support in developing this page.