Common Names
Common Names in English:
Brooding Anemone, Brooding Sea Anenome, Proliferating Anemone, Small Green Anemone
Description
Physical Description
Species Epiactis prolifera prolifera
This anemone has no acontia, column has no tubercles
and little if any adherent
material
, oral disk
has narrow radiating white lines
which originate near the mouth
, column color is greenish, reddish, or brownish, edges
of pedal disk
also have radiating white lines which do not extend far up the column wall, often found externally brooding young. Size up to 5 cm diameter, usually less, height
usually under 3 cm. Base
is often about twice the diameter of the column. May be brown, green, orange, blue, gray, solid or blotched
. May have brownish-red or dark green stripes
on column.
The tentacles of this species end with a terminal
pore
. Many individuals have tiny juvenile
anemones attached near the base.
Habitat
On and under rocks and on algae and eelgrass , outer rocky coasts and in bays . Depth Range : Mid intertidal to subtidal .
Biology
Diet
Probably feed on small crustaceans.
Reproduction
Sexual pattern is gynodioecious (small adults are female, larger adults are simultaneous hermaphrodites ), cross-fertilize though some self-fertilization also occurs. Eggs are fertilized inside female gastrovascular cavity , then are expelled. Cilia on the mother's surface move the eggs (or larvae?) down to small pits on the edges of the pedal disk where they attach via mucus and specialized large nematocysts in the mother's tissue . Live on mother's column (digesting yolk , then catching prey ) until at least 3 months old and 4 mm diameter, then crawl off.
Behavior
Predators include nudibranch Aeolidia papillosa and leather star Dermasterias imbricata. Mosshead sculpins may also eat them. Animals move freely about, often pack the bottoms of tidepools, and may be covered with camoflaging debris .
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Radiata
()
- (Linnaeus, 1758) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Infrakingdom:
Coelenterata
()
- Leuckart, 1847
- Phylum:
Cnidaria
()
- Hatschek, 1888
- Cnidarians
- Subphylum:
Anthozoa
()
- (Ehrenberg, 1831) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Corals, Flower Animals
- Class:
Anthozoa
()
- Ehrenberg, 1831
- Corals, Flower Animals
- Subclass:
Zoantharia
()
- Order:
Actiniaria
()
- Sea Anemones
- Family:
Actiniidae
()
-
- Genus:
Epiactis
()
- (Verrill, 1869)
- Specific name:
prolifera
- Subspecies:
prolifera
- Scientific name: - Epiactis prolifera prolifera
- Subspecies:
prolifera
- Specific name:
prolifera
- Genus:
Epiactis
(
- Family:
Actiniidae
(
- Order:
Actiniaria
(
- Subclass:
Zoantharia
(
- Class:
Anthozoa
(
- Subphylum:
Anthozoa
(
- Phylum:
Cnidaria
(
- Infrakingdom:
Coelenterata
(
- Subkingdom:
Radiata
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Similar Species
Epiactis ritteri has broad radiating white lines on the oral disk, breeds young internally, and becomes extremely flat when contracted. E. lisbethae can be up to 8 cm diameter and the radiating white lines on the edges of the pedal disk extend all the way up the column
Members of the genus Epiactis
There are approximately 23 species in this genus:
E. adeliana · E. arctica · E. australiensis · E. brucei · E. fecunda · E. fernaldi (Fernald Brooding Anemone) · E. fertilis · E. georgiana · E. incerta · E. irregularis · E. japonica · E. laevisi · E. lisbethae (Lisbeth's Brooding Anemone) · E. marsupialis · E. mortenseni · E. neozealandica · E. nordmanni · E. thompsoni · E. prolifera (Proliferating Anemone) · E. prolifera prolifera (Proliferating Anemone) · E. ritteri (Ritter's Brooding Anemone) · E. thompsoni · E. vincentina
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Kozloff, Eugene N., 1987. Marine Invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA. 511 pp. ISBN 0-295-96530-4
- Smith, Ralph I. and James T. Carlton, 1975. Light's Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates of the Central California Coast. 3rd. ed. 721 pp. ISBN 0-520-02113-4
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
- Dave Cowles
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2306479
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 166720
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 153342
