Common Names
Common Names in English:
Sandy Anemone
Description
Physical Description
Species Epiactis ritteri
This anemone has no acontia, no tubercles
or major adherent
material
on the column except near the base
(has small adhesive warts
whic material sometimes adheres to), may or may not have radiating white lines
on the base of the columns (edges
of the pedal disk
), usually the column is dull
red to brown. It also has broad, radiating white lines on the oral disk
, mostly close to the tentacle
bases.
This species is extremely flat when contracted
. The unusual pale
coloration
of some individuals may be due to the fact that they are in a sea
cave.
Habitat
Usually under rocks in the lower intertidal. Depth Range : Low intertidal (and probably subtidal )
Biology
Reproduction
This species broods its young internally. The red-orange red eggs are about 1/2 mm in diameter and are fertilized inside the parent. Once they have grown to a size sufficient to have tentacles , they leave the mouth and crawl away. Asexual reproduction is not common.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
)
- animals
- Phylum:
Cnidaria
()
- Cnidarians
- Class:
Anthozoa
()
- Corals, Flower Animals
- Order:
Actiniaria
()
- Sea Anemones
- Family:
Scarabaeoidea
()
- Genus:
Epiactis
()
- (Verrill, 1869)
- Specific name:
ritteri
- Torrey, 1902
- Scientific name: - Epiactis ritteri Torrey, 1902
- Specific name:
ritteri
- Torrey, 1902
- Genus:
Epiactis
(
- Family:
Scarabaeoidea
(
- Order:
Actiniaria
(
- Class:
Anthozoa
(
- Phylum:
Cnidaria
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Cnidopus ritteri
- Cnidopus ritteri (Torrey)
- Cnidopus ritteri (Torrey, 1902)
- Epiactis ritteri Torrey
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Synonym: Epiactis ritteri . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: October 15, 2001.
Similar Species
Epiactis prolifera is usually smaller and has narrow radiating white lines on the oral disk which originate close to the mouth, (the radiating white lines on the edges of the pedal disk come up the column only partially as in this species), and brood their young externally. This species can look superficially like an aposymbiotic Anthopleura elegantissima but its column tubercles are not in vertical rows and A. elegantissima rarely is found this flat.
Members of the genus Epiactis
There are approximately 20 species in this genus:
E. adeliana · E. australiensis · E. brucei · E. fecunda · E. fernaldi (Fernald Brooding Anemone) · E. georgiana · E. incerta · E. irregularis · E. laevisi · E. lisbethae (Giant Brooding Anemone) · E. marsupialis · E. mortenseni · E. neozealandica · E. nordmanni · E. thompsoni · E. prolifera (Brooding Anemone) · E. prolifera prolifera (Brooding Sea Anenome) · E. ritteri (Sandy Anemone) · E. thompsoni · E. vincentina
Bibliography
- Kozloff, Eugene N., 1987. Marine Invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA. 511 pp. ISBN 0-295-96530-4
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
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby FA, Roskov YR, Orrell TM, Nicolson D, Paglinawan LE, Bailly N, Kirk PM, Bourgoin T, van Hertum J, eds (2008). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist Taxonomic Classification. CD-ROM; Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
- Dave Cowles
- Fautin, Daphne G. (from Hexacorallians of the World).
- Hexacorals
- MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:
- National Museum of Natural History: NMNH Invertebrate Zoology Collections
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3866626
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Hex-7147
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 144661
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 52564
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 153456
