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Anthopleura elegantissima
This anemone is generally green with pink or purple tipped tentacles. The exact shade of green varies depending on the presence and ratio of two single-celled symbiotic organisms in its tissues; a green algae and an olive or golden brown dinoflagellate. Without the symbiont, they appear grayish or white except for the pink on their tentacles.
Spotted next to rocks exposed at low tide.
Anthopleura elegantissima has a rather general diet, feeding on small animals that it captures with its tentacles, barnacle molts, and other dead animal material.
Spotted on Feb 24, 2019
Submitted on Feb 27, 2019
24 Comments
Thank you Hema and Saturniidae27.
the splash of colors is stunning!
Beautiful spotting Brian.
Thanks very much Leuba.
That is a beauty - Congratulations Brian38.
Thanks very much Mauna.
Thanks Tukup and Michael for you kind words. Yes Tukup I've started exploring the Olympic peninsula, but I don't have as much time as I would like.
Congrats, Brian! Very cool.
Congrats!! Beautiful colours :)
Been traveling Brian and just saw this. Well deserved SOTD. Congratulations.
Thank you so much Sukanya!
Wow...congratulations,Brian.It is truly a lovely spotting.
Thank you so much Neil!
Congrats, Brian. This is an awesome spotting.
Thank you António, Sergio and Mark for all the kind words!
Nice series Brian. Congrats!!
Congratulations.
Gorgeous Brian,beautiful collours,congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing
Thank you so much Daniele!
Pastel colors! Congratulations Brian, your Aggregating Anemone is our Spotting of the Day! And a perfect fit for our new 2019 mission ;-)
"This crown of green tentacles tipped in pink belong to an Aggregating Anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima), our Spotting of the Day! This relatively common intertidal species is found along the Pacific coast of North America. The green color comes from symbiotic organisms that live in the anemone's tissues. Project Noah member Brian38 writes: "The exact shade of green varies depending on the presence and ratio of two single-celled symbiotic organisms in its tissues; a green algae and an olive or golden brown dinoflagellate. Without the symbiont, they appear grayish or white except for the pink on their tentacles".
Learn more about aggregating anemones from the Monterey Bay Aquarium site: https://buff.ly/2SyGcTJ ""
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Thanks for that link Tukup!
Hi Brian. Thanks for sharing that. I didn't realize they could survive out of water. You prompted me to do some research. Score another for PN. Thanks.
http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat53/s...
Thanks much Neil! They really are beautiful and unique creatures.
Beautiful spotting, Brian. That first photo looks almost tribal. Anemones are amazing creatures.