Stichodactylidae Family of Carpet Sea Anemones

One Carpet Sea Anemone of the Stichodactylidae Family can be found in this website:

Sun Anemone, Stichodacthyla helianthus. A representative of the Stichodactylidae Family of Carpet Sea Anemones.

Carpet Sea Anemones of the Stichodactylidae Family, like stony corals, jelly fish, and hydroids, are of the Phylum Cnidaria. They have radial symmetry, a hollow digestive cavity, and specialized stinging structures in tentacles surrounding the mouth. They are in the Class Anthozoa, with polyps that have a flower-like appearance. They are solitary hexacorals that lack a calcareous skeleton, placing them in the Order Actinaria. Carpet Sea Anemones are also known as Clownfish Anemones or Host Anemones because their symbiotic or commensal relationships with fish, such as Clownfish, and invertebrates.

Carpet Sea Anemones have column bases that are either rounded, or an adherent disc. The column may be smooth or covered with verrucae (warts). These verrucae may be adhesive, often with gravel attached, or non-adhesive. There may be one, or more than one, tentacles between mesenteries (sheets of tissue that divide the internal body cavity). Anemones in this Order are often brightly colored. Stichodactylidae Anemones have broad oral discs covered with short tentacles that resemble carpet pile. Carpet Sea Anemones may reach a maximum of  1.0 m (3 feet 3 inches) in diameter.

Carpet Sea Anemones are predators, using their stinging tentacles to capture crabs, fish, mollusks, crabs, sea cucumbers, shrimp, and other invertebrates. They possess stinging cells that paralyze their prey and their tentacles pass the prey to the mouth. True Sea Anemone species may also possess zooxanthellate having a symbiotic relationship with these single-cell dinoflagellates. Zooxanthellae live within certain coral polyps, sea anemones, jellyfish, and nudibranchs. They produce energy, during daylight, by means of photosynthesis and the energy is passed along to their hosts, sometimes providing the majority of the host’s total energy needs. In return, the host provides nutrients, carbon dioxide, and a secure, sunlit, platform for the zooxanthellae. During periods of chemical or thermal stress the corals can eject the zooxanthellae, to reduce metabolic stress. This causes the coral to appear white. This process is known as coral bleaching. Coral bleaching can be an indicator of an unhealthy environment, or a natural response to a short-term condition such as El Niño. The coral will replace the zooxanthellae after the stress is resolved, or it will acquire a different species of zooxanthellae that is better accommodated to the new environment. In either case, the polyp risks starvation if it is unable to replace the zooxanthellae quickly. The Carpet Sea Anemones utilize stinging tentacles for the defense from some predators. They are preyed upon by fish, nudibranchs, and sea stars. Carpet Sea Anemones may reproduce sexually, or asexually, by budding or fission.

Carpet Sea Anemones are generally found attached to rocks, corals or other hard surfaces. They live in fairly shallow waters, ranging in depth from the intertidal zone to depths of up to 50 m (164 feet). They are limited in distribution, being found only in the Indo Pacific and Tropical Western Atlantic.

The Stichodactylidae Family has nine global members. Only one species is found along Mexico’s West Coast.