Beadlet anemone

The beadlet anemone is named for the 24 spots, or beads, located around the rim of the anemone's top just below its 200 moving tentacles. These beads contain a poison that is used to paralyze trapped prey.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Cnidaria

Class: Anthozoa

Order: Actiniaria

Family: Actinidae

Genus: Actinia

Species: Equina

Unlike most anemonesstinging polyps that spend most of their time attached to rocks on the sea bottom or on coral reefswhich are found along the ocean floor at depths of up to 325 feet (108 meters), the beadlet anemone is typically found in shallow, coastal, tidal waters along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Europe and western Africa. It is also often found along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Because of its location, the beadlet anemone has to adapt to the changing of the tides twice every day. When the tide goes out, the beadlet anemone is exposed to the air and the sun. To avoid drying out, overheating, or freezing, the anemone retracts all of its tentacles into its body. When doing this, the beadlet anemone appears as just a blob of jelly. When the tide returns, the anemone is once again protected by water and extends its tentacles. The returning tide not only protects the anemone, but also brings a fresh supply of food. Although this life style is true for most beadlet anemones, a few specimens have been found living completely underwater at depths of over 60 feet (20 meters).

The beadlet anemone is an extremely tiny creature. It may grow to be up to two inches (five centimeters) tall and about three inches (7 1/2 centimeters) across its tentacles. This anemone's body is generally brightly colored in red or yellow, with matching tentacles. The beads for which the anemone is named are generally paler than the rest of the animal's body. The beads may be light yellow or white on a yellow beadlet anemone or light pink or white on a red beadlet anemone. The beadlet anemone's body is comprised of a column, which is attached to the seabed, and a body cavity, which holds the creature's organs. In the center of the tentacles is the central opening. This hole serves both as the mouth and as the anus.

As a carnivorous, or meat-eating, animal, the beadlet anemone feeds on whatever tiny, aquatic, or water-living, animals drift through its tentacles. To reach some nearby prey, the beadlet anemone strikes with its poison-shooting tentacles and sprays with its poison-filled beads. Once the prey is paralyzed by the poison, the beadlet anemone pulls the animal into its mouth cavity.

Unlike most anemones, which reproduce by simple division, budding, or sexual reproduction, the beadlet anemone reproduces by cross-fertilization. In this process male, anemones release sperm into the water, and the females draw the sperm into their bodies to fertilize their eggs. The fertilized eggs then hatch into free-swimming larvae within the female's body. Eventually they are released into the water where they drift and float before settling on a rock and maturing into their adult forms. This type of reproduction is a kind of sexual reproduction because it involves both male and female beadlet anemones.

The beadlet anemone has a life span of about three years.

Bibliography

“Beadlet Anemone.” The Wildlife Trusts, www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/marine/anemones-and-corals/beadlet-anemone. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024. 

Davies, Rhiannon. “Beadlet Anemone.” The Rock Pool Project, 19 Apr. 2021, www.therockpoolproject.co.uk/beadlet-anemone/. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024. 

Terrell, David. “Actinia Equina.” Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Actinia‗equina/. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.