''Corynactis viridis'', the jewel anemone, is a brightly coloured

anthozoa Anthozoa is one of the three subphyla of Cnidaria, along with Medusozoa and Endocnidozoa. It includes Sessility (motility), sessile marine invertebrates and invertebrates of brackish water, such as sea anemones, Scleractinia, stony corals, soft c ...

n similar in body form to a

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 ...

or a scleractinian coral polyp, but in the order

Corallimorpharia Corallimorpharia is an order of marine cnidarians closely related to stony or reef building corals ( Scleractinia). They occur in both temperate and tropical climates, although they are mostly tropical. Temperate forms tend to be very robust, wi ...

. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and was first described by the Irish naturalist George Allman in 1846.

Description

The column of this species is smooth and roughly cylindrical, being slightly wider at the base and oral disc than in the centre. The base can grow to a diameter of about and is often ragged in outline; this is because the animal divides by longitudinal fission, and sometimes the two new individuals remain partially united. The individuals are usually found in dense aggregations, but each animal is only lightly attached to the substrate and can drift away. The tentacles are short to medium length, with tapering shafts and knobbed tips, and are in two whorls; the outer tentacles are the longer and the inner ones more numerous. The colour of this anemone is very variable; the column, tentacles and knobbed tips may be contrasting hues of white, pink, orange, red and green, while the oral disc is usually translucent, either plain or splashed with white. One common form is emerald green with brown tentacles with crimson tips, often with the oral disc having a crimson marginal ring.

Distribution and habitat

''Corynactis viridis'' occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Its range includes Scotland, Ireland, the western and southern coasts of England and Wales, southwestern continental Europe and countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Its depth range extends from the lower shore to the sublittoral zone, to depths of about . It is found in dimly lit locations on rock, particularly vertical rock faces, overhangs and caves, and often forms dense patches.

Ecology

In addition to ordinary sexual reproduction, ''Corynactis viridis'' reproduces by means of longitudinal fission; in this process two sides of the anemone draw apart from each other, tearing the animal in half, after which both of the fragments heal and become new individuals.This could make the new individuals hard to change.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2857917 Corallimorphidae Cnidarians of the Atlantic Ocean Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea Animals described in 1846 Taxa named by George Allman (natural historian)