Creature 321: Anthopleura elegantissima

Racist anemones

Anthopleura elegantissima is an anemone commonly known as a clonal anemone.

Most cnidarians are capable of cloning themselves,  but these guys do it prolifically.  They raise an army of super aggressive clones which destroy any other anemones they come across. They can reproduce sexually, but their offspring are carried by the currents far away to form new colonies.

Clonal anemones have a symbiotic relationship with certain algae. The anemone provides carbon dioxide and protection while the algae provides oxygen and sugars.

Distribution:
The clonal anemone can be found on the west coast of North America.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Actiniaria
Family: Actiniidae
Genus: Anthopleura
Species: Anthopleura elegantissima

Image Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregating_anemone

http://baynature.org/2013/01/02/kehoe-marsh-and-mcclures-beach-in-winter/

Creature 211: Actinoscyphia aurelia

An anemone that looks like a venus fly trap

Description:
Actinoscyphia aurelia is an anemone (try pronouncing that) which is known as the Venus fly trap anemone.  They look a bit like a venus fly trap.

Much like a venus fly trap their fleshy lobes shut in order to trap their prey inside. When they are threatened they release some sort of slime which glows in the dark. I know, that doesn't sound like a particularly great defense to me either. We're not really sure what this is supposed to accomplish,  but there are several hypotheses.

Distribution:
Venus fly trap anemones are found on the ocean floor at depths of over 1000 m in the Atlantic ocean, particularly the gulf of Mexico.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Actiniaria
Family: Actinoscyphiidae
Genus: Actinoscyphia
Species: Actinoscyphia aurelia

Image Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_flytrap_sea_anemone

http://animals.pawnation.com/features-venus-flytrap-sea-anemone-3621.html