Some plain, some with brightly colored tips and some with interesting critters climbing over them
I thought this one interesting.... because the color is not confined just to the tip but extends well down each arm.
Most sea anemone attach themselves to the bottom by way of an adhesive foot.
Their mouth is in the middle of the disc like body, surrounded by tentacles.... with stinging cells that act as both a defense mechanism and a way to capture prey.
Each stinging cell is made up of a small vessel filled with toxin, an inner filament and an external sensory hair.
When the hair is touched it triggers an explosion within the cell.... that attaches a small harpoon to the subject and injects a dose of poison into the flesh of the aggressor or prey.
It's this that gives the anemone it's characteristic sticky feeling.
All very aggressive stuff, that I am sure the anemone finds very useful.
But each time I see one, I think more of the beauty they provide.
The word anemone is derived from Greek.... and translates to "daughter of the wind".
Seeing them swaying gently in underwater currents always makes me think.... well named.
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