To break the monotony of the birds, which I have featured now continuously for months I have posted this Sea Anemone. Sea Anemone is actually a predatory animal and named after Anemone a terrestrial flower.
One end of the Sea Anemone is a adhesive foot, which attaches itself to the ground, while the other end is the mouth surrounded by stinging tentacles containing neurotoxins which helps to defend and catch its prey.
A hermit crab often carries a sea anemone on its shell as a bodyguard. The Sea anemones stinging tentacles deter predators and in return the anemone gains mobility and thus a wider feeding range and well as scraps of crabs food. Hermits crab used abandoned mollusc shells as body protection, when they move out from one shell to another they do not leave their bodyguards behind. When about to move the crab gives the anemone a warning tap so that it relaxes its hold on the shell, then the crab lifts the anemone with its claw to the new shell.
A similar arrangement exists between the clown fish and the Anemone. The clown fish protects itself from predators by taking refuge among a anemones stinging tentacles. The fish secretes a coat of mucus which counteracts the poisonous discharge from the anemones stinging cells. The anemone seems to benefit because the clown fish acts as a lure to protect unprotected species and the fish benefits from eating up leftover scraps of the anemones food.
Thanks for all the great info on this creature! It was quite interesting to see a non-bird post (and we love all things ocean), but we're certainly not complaining about the usual offerings -- your bird photography is spectacular, and it always seems like we're learning about some interesting new species.
ReplyDeleteThe Sea Anemone is a Sea Anomaly and should be respected as a gift to our earth. I first began to appreciate this specimen in drug rehab as a studied through a National Geographic magazine.
ReplyDelete