''Bartholomea annulata'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
sea anemone
Sea anemones ( ) are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemone ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Aiptasiidae, commonly known as the ringed anemone or corkscrew anemone. It is one of the most common anemones found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea.
Description
The ringed anemone can reach a diameter of when fully extended. The column is short and wide and the oral disc with its central mouth can be across. There are about two hundred long, translucent tentacles ringed with whorls and spirals formed by groups of
cnidocyte
A cnidocyte (also known as a cnidoblast) is a type of cell containing a large secretory organelle called a ''cnidocyst'', that can deliver a sting to other organisms as a way to capture prey and defend against predators. A cnidocyte explosively ...
s. The general colour is grey or brown with the cnidocyte area cream coloured. The anemone contains
symbiotic
Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...
zooxanthellae
Zooxanthellae (; zooxanthella) is a colloquial term for single-celled photosynthetic organisms that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including corals, jellyfish, demosponges, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthell ...
, single-celled algae that live within its tissues. During the day these use energy from the sun to manufacture carbohydrates by photosynthesis. The sea anemone benefits from this and the algae have a safe lodging free from the likelihood of
predation
Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
.
Distribution and habitat
The ringed anemone is a common species in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Its range extends from Bermuda, Florida and Texas to the northern coast of South America. It is found on reefs and on soft substrates such as coral rubble or sand at depths down to about . It usually occupies a hole or crevice or lives under a rock, drawing back out of sight if disturbed. It has been found using the empty shell of the queen conch ''
Lobatus gigas
''Aliger gigas'', originally known as ''Strombus gigas'' or more recently as ''Lobatus gigas'', commonly known as the queen conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family of true conches, the Strombidae. This s ...
'' as a home.
[
]
Biology
Some of the ringed anemone's nutritional needs are supplied by the zooxanthellae. It also feeds by extending its tentacles to catch zooplankton
Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...
and small invertebrates. These are immobilised by the cnidocytes and transferred by the tentacles to the mouth.gamete
A gamete ( ) is a Ploidy#Haploid and monoploid, haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that Sexual reproduction, reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as s ...
s into the water column
The (oceanic) water column is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical ( pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined ...
. After fertilisation, the eggs
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop.
Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to:
Biology
* Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms
Food
* Eggs as food
Places
* Egg, Austria
* Egg, Switzerland ...
hatch into larvae which are plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...
ic and drift with the current. After further development they settle on the seabed and undergo metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...
into juvenile anemones.[
]
Ecology
Predators on the ringed anemone include starfish
Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...
, nudibranch
Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs, belonging to the order Nudibranchia, that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have b ...
s and sea spider
Sea spiders are marine arthropods of the class (biology), class Pycnogonida, hence they are also called pycnogonids (; named after ''Pycnogonum'', the type genus; with the suffix '). The class includes the only now-living order (biology), order P ...
s such as ''( Pigrogromitus timsanus)''. Infestation with this sea spider caused the sea anemone to retract its tentacles and produce copious amounts of mucus and to be unable to attach to the substrate, with death often following. The sea spider seemed unaffected by the stinging cnidocytes of the anemone.
The ringed anemone is associated with a number of other invertebrates including the opossum shrimp
Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in this ...
'' Heteromysis actiniae'' and several species of cleaner shrimp
Cleaner shrimp is a common name for a number of swimming Decapoda, decapod crustaceans that clean other organisms of parasites. Most are found in the family (biology), families Hippolytidae (including the Pacific cleaner shrimp, ''Lysmata amboi ...
s. These include '' Ancylomenes pedersoni'' and the spotted cleaner shrimp
The spotted cleaner shrimp (''Periclimenes yucatanicus''), is a species of cleaner shrimp common to the Caribbean Sea. These Caridea, shrimp live among the tentacles of several species of sea anemones. They sway their body and wave their antenna ( ...
(''Periclimenes yucatanicus'') which live close to it or among its tentacles. They invite fish to approach by lashing their white antennae, relying on the anemone to keep them safe from attack. They then nibble at any external parasites
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...
that may be attached to the fish.
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4865216
Aiptasiidae
Animals described in 1817
Taxa named by Charles Alexandre Lesueur
Cnidarians of the Caribbean Sea