'' Discosoma nummiforme'' ''Discosoma'' is a genus of

cnidaria Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...

ns 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 ...

. Common names for the genus include mushroom anemone, disc anemone and elephant ear mushroom.Sprung, J
Aquarium Invertebrates: Mushrooms, Elephants Ears, And False Corals: A Review Of The Corallimorpharia.
''Advanced Aquarist'' Volume 1. October 2002. Most species are disc-shaped and produce large amounts of

mucus Mucus (, ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both Serous fluid, serous and muc ...

. There are a great variety of colors, including metallic and

fluorescent Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with color ...

shades and striped and spotted patterns. ''Discosoma'' gather food particles from the water. Some species absorb nutrients produced by

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 ...

photosynthetic Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...

dinoflagellate The Dinoflagellates (), also called Dinophytes, are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered protists. Dinoflagellates are mostly marine plankton, but they are also commo ...

s living in their tissues in a

symbiotic Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

relationship. Some species are sold commercially in the

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

trade. The red fluorescent protein which has applications in molecular biology as a reporter protein was first derived from the species. There are approximately 11 recognized species:Fautin, D. G. (2013)
''Discosoma''.
World List of Corallimorpharia. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) on 18 March 2018. *'' Discosoma album'' *'' Discosoma carlgreni'' – Forked-tentacle corallimorpharian *'' Discosoma dawydoffi'' *'' Discosoma fowleri'' *'' Discosoma fungiforme'' *'' Discosoma molle'' *'' Discosoma neglecta'' – Umbrella corallimorpharian *'' Discosoma nummiforme'' *'' Discosoma rubraoris'' *'' Discosoma unguja'' *'' Discosoma viridescens''

References

Discosomidae Hexacorallia genera {{Hexacorallia-stub