We all know that season and oceans are an important part of the world where aquatic life inhabits.About 71 percent of our earth consists of water which includes all the rivers, lakes, seas and oceans and all the water reservoirs have aquatic life in them.All the rivers and seas are full of a large number of aquatic organisms of different species.According to an estimate almost 1.4 to 1.6 million species of marine organisms exist on earth and according to WORMS (World Register of Marine Species) only 240,000 marine species are known to us.”Sea Anemone” is one of the most common marine organisms.Here in this article we are gonna study about the Sea Anemone.
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What is ”Sea Anemone”?
”Sea Anemone” is a soft bodied marine organism having a flower like appearance and living in the tidal zone of the ocean in the depth of about 10,000 metres.It is an invertebrate belonging to the order Actiniaria.Here in this article we will have complete analysis of Sea Anemon, its taxonomy, anatomy, reproduction and lifespan, etc.
Appearance and Structure of Sea Anemone:
It is a soft bodied marine animal having a cylindrical body with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles.The tentacles are variable in number and result to give a flower like appearance to the organism.A sea Anemon has a Cylindrical stalk having an Oral Disc at its top.The oral disc is surrounded by the Tentacles.They have a basal disc at their base which they use for attachment on underwater surfaces like Rocks and Shells, etc.They can swim in water with the help of their foot and by twisting their body but some adult Sea Anemon are Sessile.
Body Parts of Sea Anemone:
Here in this section we will go through the main body parts of sea anemone.Some of the main body parts of Sea Anemon are given below:
- Oral Disc:
Oral disc is the top most body part of the Sea Anemon.It looks like the center of a flower.It is the single pathway that works both as mouth and anus which means that it is the only pathway for taking in food and then excrete waste materials.
- Tentacles:
The oral disc is surrounded by a varied number of tentacles.These are thin, slender, finger-like projections that extend out from the oral disc and help in capturing prey and also for self defense.
- Column:
It is the main body part consisting of two tissue layers with a jelly like layer between them.
- Pedal Disc:
This is the single adhesive foot located at the base of the column that help the anemones to attach in various rocks under water.
- Coelenteron:
It is a single cavity of the Sea Anemon body, that carries out both the functions of the digestive system and the circulatory system.Thus food digestion and blood circulation are both carried out through the coelenteron.
- Mesentery:
Mesentery are the thin sheet-like structures that provide support to the internal organs of the Sea Anemone’s body.
- Gonads:
Gonads are the reproductive organs of the Sea Anemon that carry out the production of sperms or eggs in males and females respectively.Gonads are also found in Mesentery.
- Siphonoglyphs:
Synophonoglyphs are the two ciliated grooves located at the oral disc that carry out the intake and outtake of water from coelenteron thus helping in respiration and waste removal.
- Acontia:
These are the threads that anemones expel for their self defense and to entangle predators.
Taxonomy of Sea Anemon:
It belong to the order Actiniaria, are classified in phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa and subclass Hexacorallia and that’s why they are related to corals and jelly fishes.
What does a sea anemon eat?
A ”S.Anemone” is a carnivorous animal that can live both on the plants and other small sized marine organisms.Very often a Sea anemone may eat a tiny plankton or a tiny fish and some other tiny marine organisms.
Reproduction in Sea Anemon:
It can reproduce by both means of reproduction i.e sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction.
Sexual Reproduction:
Sexual reproduction in sea Anemone takes place through external fertilization during which both the sperms and eggs are released outside the body, in water.When the sperms and eggs meet each other, eggs get fertilized and result to give a new larva.
Asexual Reproduction:
In ”Sea Anemone” the asexual reproduction may take place through any of the common methods of asexual reproduction such as:
- Fragmentation
- Budding
- Binary Fission
- Cloning, etc.
Lifespan of a Sea Anemone:
On the average a sea anemone can live for upto 100 years and some of the anemones may also live longer than 100 years.
Conclusions:
From the above discussion we conclude that a ”Sea Anemone” is a small sized soft bodied marine organism having a flower like appearance that lives in the tidal zone of the oceans in the depth of about 10,000 meters.A sea anemone is a carnivorous animal that can live on both plants and other marine animals such as small fishes.It can reproduce by both means of reproduction either sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction.If you also wanted to know about the Sea Anemon, then this article will be quite helpful for you as it provides you a lot about the Sea anemone, its anatomy, taxonomy, feeding, reproduction and lifespan, etc.