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How does it look like?
This anemone is creamy-yellowish in color with a height of 3 to 4 centimeters. It has a transparent oral disc 3 cm in diameter on the substrate, smooth column and a crown of tentacles, usually between 80-96 but can reach up to 160. These tentacles are pointed, gray and translucent at the base; they measure up to 4cm and are of variable color. They are arranged on the periphery of the oral disc in four or five circular rows. Rarely solitary, they can form colonies of several hundred individuals that cover large surfaces. They are generally associated with photophilic symbiotic algae or zooxanthellae.
Where does it live?
It lives in shallow places, at 1 or 2 meters depth. It is quite common on many rocky coasts of the Mediterranean, the eastern Atlantic and the Red Sea.
How does it feed?
The anemone extends its tentacles to capture small fish, crustaceans and other edible particles floating in the water.
How does it reproduce?
Sexes are separate and it is oviparous. It can also have asexual reproduction by division of the spine.
Is a confusion possible?
It can be confused with Aiptasia mutabilis which is larger in size (10cm), although tis anemone is solitary and has thicker and more translucent tentacles and finely chiseled white. It can also be confused with Anemonia viridis, although the wingspan of A.viridis is larger and can reach up to 20cm. In addition, its tentacles are green, not translucent, and the extremities are sometimes pink. Finally, it can also be confused with Bunodactis verrucosa, an anemone of identical size whose translucent tentacles are striated with transverse rings. The foot is clearly warty, unlike Aiptasia diaphana.
Curiosities
· You can completely regenerate a new oral disc and its tentacles: keep it for seven to ten days at 20°C.
· It can be exposed to considerable changes in osmotic pressure.
· It colonizes the hard substrates of small rocky bottoms and loves harbors as well as areas where the water quality is mediocre or loaded (lagoons).
Taxonomy
Phylum: Cnidaria, Class: Anthozoa, Order: Actiniaria, Family: Aiptasiidae, Genus: Aiptasia |
