Anthopleura elegantissima

The Aggregating Anemone

Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Order Actiniaria
Suborder Nynantheae
Family Actiniidae
Genus Anthopleura
Species elegantissima

Description: Can reach up to 51 cm high and 25 cm wide; column is pale gray-green to white; tentacles are pale pink or lavender, sometimes with blue tips; tentacles are thick and pointed and arranged in rings of five around the oral disc.

Habitat: Found either solitary or in dense populations on pilings, rocks or half burried in gravelly substratum.

Natural History: They are very territorial, using their nematocysts to fight or even kill anemones from other colonies. They are voracious feeders, eating small crustaceans, loose mussels and other organisms. They also have single-celled green or brown algae living within their bodies, which give them their color. These algal cells live within the anemone tissue and provide nutrition to their host. Reproduction occurs both sexually and asexually. This anemone is rare south of the Tacoma Narrows.