Sagartia elegans
| Sagartia elegans | |
|---|---|
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| 1. Sagartia elegans var. nivea, 2. 3. 4. S. elegans var. miniata, 5. S, troglodytes, 6. S. parasitica, 7. S. îcthystoma 8. 9. S. ornata. |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Subclass: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Actiniaria |
| Family: | Sagartiidae |
| Genus: | Sagartia |
| Species: | S. elegans |
| Binomial name | |
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Sagartia elegans (Dalyell, 1848) |
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Sagartia elegans, the elegant anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae. It is found in coastal areas of northwest Europe at depths down to 50 metres.
The base of S. elegans is wider than the column and may reach 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter. The base is usually anchored to the substrate but can be used as a foot for locomotion. It often has a ragged outline due to fragmentation having occurred. The column is soft and fleshy and varies in shape, even in one individual, from squat to cylindrical or trumpet shaped, and can grow up to 6 cm (2.4 in) tall. The lower part of the column is somewhat corrugated and there are a number of pale coloured suckers on the upper part to which grit or shell fragments may adhere occasionally. The disc is saucer-shaped with an undulating margin and there are up to 200 tentacles arranged irregularly, often arching over the edge. These are mostly about the same length but occasionally there is a much longer one among them. This may be used, as it is in some other sea anemone species, to prevent competing organisms from settling and occupying space nearby. When it is disturbed, a large number of white threads known as acontia are discharged from cells on the column and from the mouth. These are for defensive purposes and are armed with .
When not submerged, S. elegans hangs in a limp fashion. It sometimes partially protrudes the lining of its coelom through its mouth. If disturbed it will retract more completely, disappearing from view if it is lodged in a crevice.
There are a number of differently coloured varieties:
S. elegans is found in coastal areas of the northeast Atlantic Ocean from Scandinavia, Iceland and the North Sea south to the Mediterranean Sea. It is common round the coasts of the British Isles where the form var. miniata is the most abundant. In the Netherlands the population fluctuates widely, with decreases occurring after severe winters with cold sea temperatures.
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Wikipedia