The “flower” animals
An animal that looks like a bag full of flowers and turns somersaults
when it wants to go somewhere sounds like something out of a fairy tale.
But there really is such a creature. It’s called a sea anemone (uh
[nehm]{.smallcaps} uh nee) because it looks like a real flower called an
anemone.
sea anemone
Like a flower growing in a garden, the sea anemone sits on the rocky or
sandy sea bottom and never seems to move. Yet, it really is an animal.
It has nerves, muscles, and a mouth that takes in food. The baglike part
is its body. The “petals,” which are its tentacles, may be milky-white,
pale purple, deep red, or other lovely colors.
The anemone sits with its tentacles spread out. And woe to the fish,
shrimp, or other creature that touches these tentacles. It’s doomed to
become the anemone’s dinner!
An anemone’s tentacles contain many tiny “bubbles” in which there are
poison-filled threads. When the tentacles touch something, many of the
bubbles burst and the poisonous threads shoot out. A small fish or other
creature is paralyzed by the poison on the threads. Unable to move, it
is pulled into the anemone’s mouth, which is in the middle of the
tentacles.
Some fish, crabs, and other creatures have formed a kind of partnership
with sea anemones. For whatever reason, these animals aren’t harmed by
the anemone’s stinging tentacles. So, they use the tentacles for
protection.
A little damselfish will pick out a large anemone and stay near it. When
danger threatens, the damselfish darts in among the anemone’s tentacles
and stays there until the danger is past. Then, unharmed, the little
fish goes forth again.
This sea anemone is devouring a large grouper in the Coral Sea near
Australia.
The crab is holding a sea anemone in each claw. The crab uses the
anemones as weapons.
Some kinds of crabs wear anemones on their backs as a kind of disguise
and protection. One kind of crab actually carries an anemone in each
claw. It uses these anemones as weapons. If an enemy threatens, the crab
drives it off by shoving the anemones at it.
Anemones spend most of their lives sitting in one place. But sometimes
they move. Some anemones move by “somersaulting.” They bend way over and
take hold of the ground with their tentacles. Then they flip their
bottoms up and over. Other anemones move by sliding along on their
bottoms, or sort of crawling on their sides.
There are thousands of different kinds of sea anemones. Some are no
bigger than a pinhead. The biggest are about as big around as an
automobile tire.
