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.
Phylogeny: Carpet Sea Anemones of the Stichodactylidae Family, like stony corals, jelly fish, and hydroids, are of the Phylum Cnidaria. They are in the subphylum Anthozoa, the class Hexacorallia, the order Actiniaria, the suborder Enthemonae, and the superfamily Actinoidea. The Stichodactylidae Family is one of twenty families in this superfamily. The Stichodactylidae Family contains two genera and nine species. The name Stichodactylidae comes from the Greek words meaning “row or line of fingers”. This refers to the rows of tentacles that characterize some species in this family. 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. Species in this family are also commonly called Stichodactylids.
Morphology: Stichodactylid polyps have radial symmetry, a hollow digestive cavity, and specialized stinging cells within the tentacles that surround their mouth. Their polyps have a flower-like appearance. These solitary hexacorals lack a calcareous skeleton. Carpet Sea Anemones have column bases that are either rounded, or an adherent disk. The column may be smooth or covered with verrucae (warts). These verrucae may be adhesive, often with gravel attached, or non-adhesive. Stichodactylids have broad oral disks covered with short tentacles that resemble carpet pile. There may be one, or more than one, tentacle between mesenteries (sheets of tissue that divide the internal body cavity). These anemones are often brightly colored. Carpet Sea Anemones may reach a maximum of 1.0 m (3 feet 3 inches) in diameter.
Habitat and Distribution: Carpet Sea Anemones are generally found attached to rocks, corals, and 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). Carpet Sea Anemones have a discontinuous distribution in tropical to subtropical seas. They are found in the Indian Ocean, the Central and Western Pacific Ocean, and the Western Atlantic Ocean. Only one species from this family is found in Mexican waters.
Reproduction: Carpet Sea Anemones may be gonochoric (male or female for life), sequential hermaphrodites (changing sex with age), or simultaneous hermaphrodites (having both male and female reproductive organs). They generally reproduce sexually through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization, though some species brood their eggs internally. They also reproduce asexually, by budding or fission.
Ecosystem Roles: Carpet Sea Anemones are predators that use 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. Carpet Sea Anemone species may also be zooxanthellate, which means they have a symbiotic relationship with single-cell dinoflagellates called zooxanthellae. 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. Carpet Sea Anemones utilize stinging tentacles for defense from some predators. They are preyed upon by fish, nudibranchs, and sea stars.