Sea Anemones are very slow-moving animals that spend most of their time attached to rocks on the ocean floor. The best places to spot them are along rocky shores at low tide. Their body is a hollow column with a central mouth surrounded by stinging tentacles. A flat foot glues itself to the rock below. Out of water, they often look like soft squishy lumps as they withdraw their tentacles to preserve moisture. Sea Anemones vary in size (fraction of an inch to 5 ft across) and color. The biggest and most colorful are found in the tropics.
Sea Anemones sting and paralyze fish, shrimp, or crab that wander into their tentacles and then draw their prey into their mouth. Although Anemones spend most of their time in one spot, they can travel by using their tentacles to swim with the current or by hitching a ride, with a Hermit Crabs for example.
Giant Green Anemones (up to 7 in across) can be found from Alaska to Panama. Aggregating Anemones have a tube-shaped body (up to 2.5 in tall) crowned with tentacles (up to 3.5 in across) and can be found from Alaska to Baja California. Silver-Spotted and Short Plumose Anemones are common in the North Atlantic.
Did you know? Some Sea Anemones use their poisonous tentacles to fight over territory with other Anemones.
See Also: Barnacle, Blue Mussel, Clam, Crab, Harbor Seal, River Otter, Sand Dollar, Sea Jelly, Sea Lion, Sea Otter, Sea Star, Sea Urchin
