''Nematostella'' is a genus 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 ...

s in the family

Edwardsiidae Edwardsiidae is a Family (biology), family of sea anemones. Edwardsiids have long thin bodies and live buried in sediments or in holes or crevices in rock. Genera The following genera are recognized within the family Edwardsiidae. * ''Drillactis ...

. Of the three species in the genus, the best known is the

starlet sea anemone The starlet sea anemone (''Nematostella vectensis'') is a species of small sea anemone in the family Edwardsiidae native to the east coast of the United States, with introduced populations along the coast of southeast England and the west coast ...

(''N. vectensis''), which has been extensively studied as a

model organism A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Mo ...

in fields such as genetics, evolution, and ecology. The defining morphological

apomorphy In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel Phenotypic trait, character or character state that has evolution, evolved from its ancestral form (or Plesiomorphy and symplesiomorphy, plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy sh ...

of ''Nematostella'' is the presence of nematosomes. Nematostella are able to reproduce asexually and regenerate from small fragments due to their simple body structure, pluripotent cells, specific genetic mechanisms, and evolutionary adaptations. Species:''Nematostella'' Stephenson, 1935.
''In'': Fautin, D. G. 2011. ''Hexacorallians of the World''. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). 2014. * '' Nematostella nathorstii'' (Carlgren, 1921) * '' Nematostella polaris'' (Carlgren, 1921) * ''

Nematostella vectensis The starlet sea anemone (''Nematostella vectensis'') is a species of small sea anemone in the family Edwardsiidae native to the east coast of the United States, with introduced populations along the coast of southeast England and the west coast ...

'' Stephenson, 1935 – starlet sea anemone

References

Edwardsiidae Hexacorallia genera {{Actiniaria-stub