Sea anemones. Animal sea anemone: habitats, appearance, lifestyle. Distribution and habitats of sea anemones

Sea anemones or anemones are of increasing interest to scientists and simply lovers of the animal world. They are very similar to flowers, but belong to the group of large polyps. The difference between anemones and other corals is that their bodies are soft. Biologists classify these creatures as special squad class Coral polyps, the closest relatives of sea anemones are jellyfish, prominent representatives coelenterates.

Structure

The sea anemone consists of two parts - a corolla with tentacles and a cylinder-like leg. The leg is a formation of muscle tissue - the longitudinal and circular muscles that are located here enable the body of sea anemones to change position and shape. In most anemones, the leg at the bottom is thickened - this is the so-called pedal disk or sole. The skin of the sole of some species of sea anemone secretes a special mucus that hardens and allows these organisms to attach themselves to a hard surface. The sole of other anemone species is expanded and swollen - with its help, sea anemones penetrate into the loosened substrate. The leg of sea anemones of the genus Minyas is equipped with a bladder - a pneumocystis, which is used as a float. This type of sea anemone moves in the water upside down. The muscle tissue of the sea anemone leg is enveloped in an intercellular substance - mesoglea. This substance is quite thick, which ensures the elasticity of the leg.

On top, the body of the sea anemone is equipped with an oral disc, which is surrounded by many tentacles arranged in several rows. The tentacles have stinging cells that shoot thin streams of poison at the right moment. The round or oval opening of the mouth of these creatures opens the pharynx, which goes directly into the gastric cavity (the simplest stomach).

The nervous system of sea anemones consists of groups of sensitive cells that are located around the circumference of the oral disc, on the surface of the sole, and also at the base of the tentacles. Each group of such cells reacts to its own type of stimulus: the cells at the base of the leg of this creature respond only to mechanical stimulation, the cells at the opening of the mouth are able to distinguish substances, and are indifferent to other stimuli.

The body of most anemones does not have a covering. Tubular specimens have an outer chitinous covering, making their stem like a hard tube. The exoderm of some varieties of such organisms includes small grains of sand and similar particles that strengthen the surface of the skin. Sea anemones vary greatly in color, sometimes specimens of the same species have different colors. These animals are also characterized by a wide range of sizes: the height of the smallest sea anemone Gonactinia prolifera is 2-3 mm, and the largest Metridium farcimen is 1 m.

Lifestyle

Depending on their lifestyle, sea anemones can belong to one of three groups: they can be sessile, swimming or burrowing. Almost all species of these animals are sessile and belong to the swimming class. sea ​​anemones only two genera, quite rare.

Sessile sea anemones can still move slightly. If something begins to disturb these creatures in their old place (excess or lack of light, lack of food), they begin to move using various ways. There are sea anemones that move as if turning upside down - they bend their body and attach to the soil substrate with the so-called mouth, then they detach the leg and move it. Some of the sea anemones gradually move the sole, tearing off various sections of it from the ground surface.

Anemones of the burrowing group are mainly found in one place, but burrow into the substrate so much that only the crown of tentacles is visible on the surface of the soil.

Sea anemones of the floating group literally float with the flow, sluggishly moving their tentacles.

Places of residence

Sea anemones live in literally all large bodies of water. globe. Most of these creatures are found in the tropics and subtropics; there are some of them in the polar regions.

Sea anemones are found in all depths - both in shallow water and in the deepest ocean depressions. At great depths there are only a few species that have adapted to these conditions. Some species do well in fresh water. Certain varieties of sea anemones can easily become inhabitants of a home aquarium.

The resemblance of sea anemones to plants is simply amazing. The variety of their colors and shapes only confirms this. But unlike representatives of fauna, they can still move: move from place to place, bury themselves in the ground. You should also remember the danger - the tentacles of large sea anemones can cause burns upon contact with them.

Flowers can be found not only in fields and meadows, but also on the bottom of the sea. White, blue, yellow - all the colors of the rainbow... The current, like the wind, sways the petals...

Actually it's anemones or sea anemones, and with plants, apart from external similarity, they have nothing in common. Sea anemones are relatives coral polyps and jellyfish. The body consists of an elastic cylindrical leg and a corolla of tentacles. The basis of the body is the leg, which is formed by circular and longitudinal muscles, which allows the body to bend, stretch and contract. Some sea anemones have a thickening at the bottom of the leg - the sole; With its help, sea anemones stick to the soil or stones.

At the upper end of the body there is an oral disc surrounded by several rows of tentacles. In one row, all tentacles are the same in color, structure and length, but in different rows they differ. Often at the tips of the tentacles there is a cluster of stinging cells that shoot thin poisonous threads. Poisonous tentacles serve sea anemones as a weapon of attack and a means of defense. The poison of the sea anemone leaves burns on the victim’s body, the wounds take a long time to heal, and ulcers form.

Sea anemones can be divided into peaceful and more aggressive predators. Calm individuals feed on everything that floats in the water. They direct sea water with their tentacles towards oral cavity and filter it. Maybe you'll find something tasty! Some sea anemones eat everything they can find - paper, pebbles, and shells, while others can distinguish between edible and inedible prey. Predators catch crustaceans, shrimp, small fish and other small things, paralyzing them with poisonous threads. The digestive process proceeds quickly - after 16 hours, only the shell remains of the crustacean. When hungry, the sea anemone shoots its tentacles forward in search of new prey.

In case of danger, sea anemones hide in their cavity, retracting their tentacles. This is how a small bud is formed from a large living “flower”. When the danger is over, they again bloom their living “petals”.

When habitat is depleted and sea anemones lack food or light, they may move from place to place. "Walking" can be done in several ways. Some amonia cling to the soil with their oral disc, tear off the leg and move it to a new place. Others lift their soles off the ground in parts and thus move slowly. Still others fall on their side and, like a caterpillar, contracting various muscles of their body, crawl. There are sea anemones that can swim. They actively wave their tentacles, similar to the movements of a jellyfish dome, and swim wherever the current takes them.

Sea anemones- solitary organisms and cannot tolerate proximity. They sting unwanted neighbors with stinging cells. Only in in rare cases colonies of polyps are formed. But sea anemones are “friends” with other sea inhabitants, for example, with clown fish. The fish takes care of and cleans the tentacles of debris and food debris. In return, the sea anemone hides the fish under its tentacles in case of danger. Clown fish are one of the few representatives of marine fauna that have developed immunity to the poison of stinging cells.

But the most strong union with hermit crabs. The simplest alliance with cancer of the species Eupagurus excavatus. He finds an empty shell on which an anemone is already sitting and colonizes it.

More difficult relationships stacks with hermit crab Pagurus arrosor. This crayfish does not look for an empty shell; it itself can plant an anemone on its house. The cancer attracts the sea anemone with light stroking and tapping. It doesn’t sting him at all, but on the contrary, it seems to “bloom”, straightening its tentacles. Pagurus arrosor exposes its claw to the sea anemone; it carefully lifts the sole off the ground and crawls onto the shell of its new neighbor. If there is still space left on the shell, the crayfish can plant another sea anemone there. There have been cases when there was a whole “garden” of eight sea anemones on the back of a hermit crab.

But the most striking symbiosis is observed in hermit crab Eupagurus pride-axi with sea animony Adamsia palliata. Cancer places a very small sea anemone on its back and never leaves it. When the crustacean grows up and needs to change its shell to a more spacious one, Adamsia comes to the rescue. Over time, its sole grows and expands, hanging over the shell. The base of the leg becomes wider and wider, over time it hardens and becomes elastic, forming Eupagurus pride-axi a comfortable home.

There are sea anemones that do not wait for their partner, but look for him themselves. Autholoba reticulata, with its tentacles, and not its sole, clings to a stone or polyp, and in such a suspended state waits for the cancer to crawl under it. When the crustacean appears, it grabs its claw with its sole, and then completely moves onto its back.

Such cooperation is beneficial to both parties. The cancer receives protection and picks up food that has fallen, the sea anemone expands its habitat and hunting zone.

Sea anemone can be found in all seas and oceans, even in the Northern basin Arctic Ocean, but most species are found in warm tropical and subtropical waters.

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Sea anemones are large coral polyps that, unlike most other corals, have a soft body. Sea anemones are classified as a separate order in the class of Coral polyps; in addition to corals, sea anemones are related to other coelenterate animals - jellyfish. They received their second name, sea anemones, for their extraordinary beauty and external resemblance to flowers.

Colony of sun anemones (Tubastrea coccinea)

The body of sea anemones consists of a cylindrical leg and a corolla of tentacles. The leg is formed by longitudinal and circular muscles, which allow the body of the sea anemone to bend, shorten and stretch. The leg may have a thickening at the lower end - a pedal disk or sole. In some sea anemones, the ectoderm (skin) of the legs secretes hardening mucus, with the help of which they stick to a solid substrate, in others it is wide and swollen, such species are anchored in loose soil with the help of the sole. The leg of sea anemones of the genus Minyas is even more surprising: their sole has a bubble - a pneumocystis, which plays the role of a float. These sea anemones swim upside down in the water. The tissue of the leg consists of individual muscle fibers immersed in a mass of intercellular substance - mesoglea. Mesoglea can have a very thick consistency, similar to cartilage, so the sea anemone leg is elastic to the touch.

Single sun anemone with translucent tentacles

At the upper end of the body, sea anemones have an oral disc surrounded by one or several rows of tentacles. All tentacles of one row are the same, but in different rows they can differ greatly in length, structure and color.

Deep sea anemone (Urticina felina)

In general, the body of sea anemones is radially symmetrical, in most cases it can be divided into 6 parts; for this reason they are even classified as a subclass of Six-rayed corals. The tentacles are armed with stinging cells that can shoot thin poisonous threads. The mouth opening of sea anemones can be round or oval. It leads into the pharynx, which opens into a blindly closed gastric cavity (something like a stomach).

Often at the ends of the tentacles you can see swellings formed by accumulations of stinging cells

Sea anemones are quite primitive animals; they do not have complex sensory organs. Their nervous system represented by groups of sensitive cells located at vital points - around the oral disc, at the base of the tentacles and on the sole. Nerve cells specialize in different types external influences. Thus, nerve cells on the sole of the sea anemone are sensitive to mechanical influences, but do not respond to chemical ones, and nerve cells near the oral disc, on the contrary, distinguish substances, but do not respond to mechanical stimuli.

Bubble-like thickenings at the ends of the tentacles of Entacmaea quadricolor

Most sea anemones have a naked body, but trumpet sea anemones have a chitinous outer covering, so their leg looks like a tall, hard tube. In addition, some species may include grains of sand and other elements in their ectoderm. construction material, which strengthens their integument. The color of sea anemones is very diverse; even representatives of the same species can have different shades. These animals come in all the colors of the rainbow - red, pink, yellow, orange, green, brown, white. Often the tips of the tentacles have a contrasting color, which makes them colorful. The size of sea anemones varies within very wide limits. The smallest sea anemone (Gonactinia prolifera) has a height of only 2-3 mm, and the diameter of the oral disc is 1-2 mm. The largest carpet anemone can reach a diameter of 1.5 m, and the sausage sea anemone (Metridium farcimen) reaches a height of 1 m!

The carpet anemone (Stoichactis haddoni) has tiny wart-like tentacles, but can reach a diameter of 1.5 m

Sea anemones are common in all seas and oceans of our planet. The largest number of species is concentrated in tropical and subtropical zone, but these animals can also be found in the polar regions. For example, sea anemone metridium senile, or sea pink, is found in all seas of the Arctic Ocean basin.

Cold-water anemone metridium senile, or sea pink (Metridium senile)

The habitats of sea anemones cover all depths: from the surf zone, where during low tides sea anemones can literally find themselves on land, to the very depths of the ocean. Of course, few species live at depths greater than 1000 m, but they have adapted to such unfavorable environment. Despite the fact that sea anemones are purely marine animals, some species tolerate slight desalination. Thus, 4 species are known in the Black Sea, and one is found even in the Azov Sea.

Deep sea tube anemone (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus)

Anemones that live in shallow water often contain microscopic algae in their tentacles, which gives them a greenish tint and partially supplies their hosts with nutrients. Such anemones live only in illuminated places and are active mainly during the day, since they depend on the intensity of photosynthesis of green algae. Other species, on the contrary, do not like light. Sea anemones living in the tidal zone have a clear daily rhythm associated with periodic flooding and drying of the territory.

Anthopleura xanthogrammica lives in symbiosis with green algae

In general, all types of sea anemones can be divided into three groups according to their lifestyle: sessile, swimming (pelagic) and burrowing. The vast majority of species belong to the first group; only sea anemones of the genus Minyas are swimming, and the burrowing lifestyle is characteristic only of sea anemones of the genera Edwardsia, Haloclava, and Peachia.

This green sea anemone lives in the Philippines

Sedentary sea anemones, despite their name, are capable of moving slowly. Usually sea anemones move when something does not suit them in their old place (in search of food, due to insufficient or excessive light, etc.). To do this they use several methods. Some sea anemones bend their body and attach to the ground with an oral disc, after which they tear off the leg and move it to a new place. This tumbling “from head to toe” is similar to the method of movement of sessile jellyfish. Other sea anemones move only the sole, alternately tearing off different sections of it from the ground. Finally, the Aiptasia anemones fall on their sides and crawl like worms, alternately cutting different parts of the leg.

Single tube anemone

This method of movement is also similar to burrowing species. Burrowing anemones actually don’t dig that much, most of the time they sit in one place, and they were called burrowers for their ability to burrow deep into the ground, so that only the corolla of tentacles sticks out. To dig a hole, the sea anemone resorts to a trick: it fills the gastric cavity with water and closes it. mouth opening. Then, alternately pumping water from one end of the body to the other, it, like a worm, goes deeper into the ground.

The tallest sea anemone is Metridium farcimen.

Small sessile gonactinia can sometimes swim, rhythmically moving its tentacles (such movements are similar to contractions of the dome of a jellyfish). Swimming sea anemones to a greater extent rely on the strength of currents and are held on the surface of the water passively with the help of pneumocystis.

Lush colony of sea carnations (metridiums)

Sea anemones are solitary polyps, but under favorable conditions they can form large clusters similar to flowering gardens. Most sea anemones are indifferent to their fellows, but some have a quarrelsome “character”. When such species come into contact with a neighbor, they release stinging cells; when they come into contact with the enemy’s body, they cause necrosis of its tissues. But sea anemones are often “friends” with other species of animals. Most shining example- symbiosis (cohabitation) of sea anemones and amphiprions, or clown fish. Clown fish take care of the sea anemone, clearing it of unnecessary debris and food debris, and sometimes pick up the remains of its prey; the sea anemone, in turn, eats up what is left of the amphiprion's prey. Also, tiny shrimps often play the role of cleaners and parasites, which find refuge from enemies in the tentacles of sea anemones.

Shrimp in the tentacles of a giant sea anemone (Condylactis gigantea)

The cooperation of hermit crabs with adamsia sea anemones has gone even further. Adamsias generally live independently only at a young age, and then they are picked up by hermit crabs and attached to shells, which serve as their home. Crayfish attach the sea anemone not only as if, but precisely with the oral disc forward, thanks to this the sea anemone is always provided with food particles that reach it from the sand disturbed by the cancer. In turn, the hermit crab receives reliable protection from its enemies in the form of the sea anemone. Moreover, he transfers the sea anemone from one shell to another every time he changes his house. If a crayfish does not have an anemone, it tries to find it in any way, and more often, take it away from a happier brother.

Sea anemones perceive their prey differently. Some species swallow everything that touches their hunting tentacles (pebbles, paper, etc.), others spit out inedible objects. These polyps feed on a variety of animal foods: some species play the role of filter feeders, extracting the smallest food particles and organic debris from the water, while others kill larger prey - small fish that inadvertently approach the tentacles. Sea anemones, living in symbiosis with algae, feed mostly on their green “friends.” During the hunt, the sea anemone keeps its tentacles spread out, and when satisfied, hides them in a tight ball, covering itself with the edges of its body. The anemones shrink into a ball and in case of danger or when drying out on the shore (during low tide), well-fed individuals can remain in this state for many hours.

Colony of sun anemones hiding their tentacles

Sea anemones can reproduce asexually and sexually. Asexual reproduction carried out through longitudinal division, when the body of the sea anemone is divided into two individuals. Only in the most primitive gonactinia does transverse division occur, when a mouth grows in the middle of the leg, and then it splits into two independent organisms. Some sea anemones may experience a kind of budding, when several young organisms separate from the sole at once. The ability for asexual reproduction determines a high ability for tissue regeneration: sea anemones easily restore severed body parts.

The same sun anemones, but with extended tentacles

Most sea anemones are dioecious, although males do not differ in appearance from females. Only in some species can both male and female reproductive cells be formed simultaneously. Sperm and eggs are formed in the mesoglea of ​​sea anemones, but fertilization can occur either in external environment, and in the gastric cavity. During the first week of life, sea anemone larvae (planulae) move freely in the water column and during this time they are carried by currents over long distances. In some anemones, planulae develop in special pockets on the body of the mother.

Touching the tentacles of large sea anemones can cause painful burns from the stinging cells, but no deaths are known. Some types of anemones (carpet, horse or strawberry, etc.) are kept in aquariums.

• Phylum: Cnidaria (Coelenterata) Hatschek, 1888 = Coelenterates, cnidarians, cnidarians
• Subphylum: Anthozoa Ehrenberg, 1834 = Corals, coral polyps
• Class: Hexacorallia = Six-rayed corals
  • Order: Actiniaria = Sea anemones, sea flowers, sea anemones

Anemones, sea anemones - order Actiniaria

Sea anemones or sea anemones (Actiniaria) are an order of the class of six-rayed corals, subphylum Corals or coral polyps (Anthozoa). About 1,500 species of sea anemones are known. Sea anemones are quite large, fleshy animals, reaching a height of one meter. They have soft tubular bodies that are completely devoid of a calcareous skeleton.

The body of sea anemones is cylindrical in shape, truncated at the top. It has a slit-like mouth surrounded by rows of tentacles. The body of sea anemones ends at the bottom with a “sole”, with the help of which the animal sticks, thus attaching itself to underwater objects.

At first glance, the similarity of the tentacles of sea anemones with the petals of flowers is striking, and most of all they resemble the flowers of chrysanthemums, dahlias and asters. Anemones can be painted in a variety of colors. Among these animals there are species with purple, brown, snow-white, green and even pale blue bodies.

Sea anemones are widespread in the oceans. They live in Arctic latitudes and in equatorial waters, in coastal sands and on depths of the sea ah, deprived of light, plunging to the bottom of the deepest ocean trenches to depths of over 10,000 meters. Sea anemones can be found on algae, sponges, corals and other marine animals. However, most species of sea anemones prefer shallow coastal shallow waters and water with fairly high salinity. They live mostly alone and are able to travel short distances in search of shelter.

At the ends of the tentacles of some species of sea anemones, trapping threads are formed due to the formation of a large number of stinging capsules here. At the same time, the stinging capsules serve the sea anemone both for attack and protection from enemies. The poison of the stinging threads, having hit the victim, instantly paralyzes it as soon as the sea beauty touches them with its tentacles. Even a person who unintentionally touches an anemone develops a burn on the skin, and the hand swells for a long period. In addition, there is a general intoxication of the body, which is accompanied by headache and chills. After some time, the affected skin dies at the site of the burns, and deep, poorly healing ulcers form.

At the same time, the poison of the stinging capsules of sea anemones is still not an absolutely reliable means of protection against enemies. Thus, some mollusks pursue sea anemones, since they are more or less insensitive or insensitive to their poison, and some types of fish easily swallow sea anemones without harming themselves. But many small fish are excellent food for predatory sea anemones.

The peaceful coexistence of this sea “flower” and some fish, which is often found in nature, is also well known. Clown fish live among the tentacles of sea anemones without the slightest harm to themselves. And the secret is in the protective mucus shell with which these fish are covered; it is this that protects them from the poison of the sea anemone tentacles. Clown fish, even in search of food, do not swim far from the sea anemone, and in case of danger they immediately hide in the thicket of its tentacles. And the fish, in turn, eating their prey near the mouth of the sea anemone and losing its remains, as if feeding their protector, and by active movements of their fins they significantly improve her gas exchange. Thus, from such cohabitation both clown fish and sea anemone receive mutual benefits, so their union is strong.

There are other cases of symbiosis between sea anemones and marine organisms. And the most classic example of such a relationship is the symbiosis of sea anemones and hermit crabs. And it happens like this: the hermit crab Eupagurus excavatus looks for an empty mollusk shell with an anemone already attached to it for housing, and if such a find is found, it crawls from its shell into the found one. Or maybe the crayfish carefully remove the sea anemone from the stone and transplant it onto its shell...

Sea anemones feed mainly on various small invertebrates; sometimes their prey is fish, which they first kill or paralyze with the “batteries” of their stinging cells or cnidocytes, and only after that they pull them to their mouths with the help of tentacles. Large species Sea anemones also feed on crabs and bivalves. The edges of their mouth can swell, forming something like a lip, which also helps in capturing prey.

Sea anemones such as Metridium, Radianthus and Stichodactyla, which have numerous tentacles, feed mainly on food particles suspended in the water. But the anemone Stichodactyla helianthus is capable of catching sedentary sea ​​urchins, covering them with his muscular oral disc. Those anemones that feed on particles suspended in water catch plankton inhabitants with the help of sticky mucus covering the surface of the body and tentacles. Cilia located on the surface of the body always direct prey towards the oral disc, and cilia on the tentacles move food particles to the tips of the tentacles, after which the tentacles bend and send food into the mouth.

In sea anemones, both asexual and sexual reproduction can be observed. Asexual reproduction, which occurs through division or fragmentation of the body, is quite common for sea anemones. The agamic species Aiptasia pallida, Haliplanella luciae and Metridium senile are characterized by a very specialized form of fragmentation, the so-called pedal laceration. In this case, small fragments of the edge of the sole can be separated from the sea anemone when it moves, or they can simply crawl to the sides from the motionless sea anemone. As a result of this spreading around the base of the parent’s body, a kind of “witch’s ring” of young small anemones is formed, into which individual fragments of the mother’s sole soon turn. Asexual reproduction by longitudinal division of the body is also observed in representatives of many species of sea anemones, but division in the transverse direction is rare, in particular in Gonactinia prolifera and Nematostella vectensis.

Sexual reproduction is ensured by both dioecious and hermaphroditic sea anemones. The gonads are located on the septa, which look like longitudinal swollen cords lying between the mesenteric filament and the retractor muscle. Fertilization and development of eggs can occur both in the gastric cavity and in sea ​​water during external fertilization. The planula larva, which may be planktotrophic or lecithotrophic, after a certain period of time (varies among different types), undergoes metamorphosis, turning into a new individual sea anemone.

About animals included in the order Actiniaria. The name of the animals comes from the name of an earthly flower, anemone.

If you check the classification, sea anemones are included in the class Anthozoa, a phylum of cnidarians and a subclass of six-rayed corals. This animal is known to the world because of its symbiotic relationship with fish.

Sea anemones benefit from their association with fish - improved gas exchange and nutrition (food that remains after the fish eat).

The same symbiosis has developed between sea anemones and crabs of the genus Lybia. Boxer crabs use the stinging polyps of sea anemones to protect themselves from predators. The crabs pick up sea anemones and hold them as a shield. Anemones, in turn, thanks to crabs gain mobility, because they cannot move independently.

Here are some interesting facts about sea anemone:

Sea anemones, like all other cnidarians, have mesoglea in their body - a jelly-like substance. Anemones have a close relationship with corals, hydra and jellyfish.

Sea anemones can decorate any aquarium. For commercial purposes, sea anemones are considered as aquarium collection. Thus, the sea anemone trade is increasing.

These Marine life have an amazing range of color diversity. Their vitreous bodies are always bright and delicate.

Sea anemone size.

The diameter can reach 1.8 - 3 cm. The largest sea anemones have a span of 2 meters. The smallest ones barely reach 4 mm.

The sea anemone's mouth functions like an anus. Capture function and prey catching. The location of the mouth is the center of the disc cavity. And several tentacles located around the mouth.

Sea anemones are harmless and harmless animals. The sea anemone is not dangerous to humans. However, some sea anemone species have a toxin that can cause burns to humans.

Sea anemones feed on fish, shellfish and small sea animals. Peaceful anemones are calm individuals: they eat everything that floats in the water. However, they distinguish between edible food and inedible food.

• Next to sea anemones live those fish and shellfish that are insensitive to their poison.
• For large and predatory fish, sea anemones serve as a place of camouflage and shelter.

This animal, sea ​​anemone, is completely different from other cnidarians in its lifestyle. They have the disadvantage of free swimming, as for example jellyfish do. They differ from corals in that they do not live in colonies or groups, but individually - they prefer to live alone.

Life cycle of sea anemone. The polyp arises from Planula after the egg, fertilized by sperm, begins its division.

Asexual reproduction is also characteristic of sea anemones. In some species of sea anemones, division is the result
asexual reproduction.

Most sea anemones live in one place permanently. However, they may move to another place if it is not suitable for them to live in. They move if predators harass them or the location encounters prolonged dryness. To get to a new place they use crawling-like movements.

Sea anemone can be eaten. It is used as a delicacy in southwestern Spain and southern Italy.

Sea anemones are often served battered or marinated in vinegar.

The animal sea anemone really looks like a flower. They were called anemones, but to some it resembles an aster. Explorers of the deep sea have counted one and a half thousand different species of anemones.

When cut into pieces, sea anemones demonstrate their remarkable ability to reproduce and regenerate.

In one row, all tentacles of an anemone are identical in color, structure and length. however, they may differ from row to row.