Condylactis gigantea
Encyclopedia
Condylactis gigantea is a tropical species of sea anemone
that is found in coral reef
s, shallow ocean waters, in shore areas in the Caribbean Sea
– most specifically the West Indies – and the Western Atlantic Sea, ranging from southern Florida
through the Florida Keys
. It is also commonly known as : Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone, Giant Golden Anemone, Condylactis Anemone, Haitian anemone, Pink tipped anemone, Purple tipped anemone, and Florida Condy. This species can be easily seen growing in lagoons or on inner reefs as either individuals or loose groups, but never as colonies.
. Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone is also very common around reefs in both “forereef” and lagoon
areas. It can also be found at most inshore areas, on coral reefs, though this is less common. Sea anemones in general can be found anywhere from the intertidal zone
all the way to a depth of 30,000 feet.
Condylactis gigantea is an important member of their subtidal community by providing shelter to a variety of commensals (several fish and cleaner shrimp species) and they serve as a "base station" for fish cleaning activity.
and hermaphroditic
. It has a 1:1 to sex ratio (males to females) with no evidence of brooding or of asexual reproduction or division furrowing
.
The Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones’ reproduction scheme is defined by Jennison (1981) as oviparous → planktonic → lecithotrophic. The releasing or spawning of eggs and sperm are relatively synchronous with fertilization occurring externally in the water column. The success of fertilization depends upon the close proximity of separate sexed anemones. Fertilization produces a planula
larva, which derives nutrients from yolk, thus larval death by starvation is unlikely, making dispersal an advantageous strategy to survival. The planula larva will settle on the benthos
, develop a pedal disc
, and then, eventually grow into a fully developed anemone.
s. These tentacles differ in each individual of the species and their tips may be purple or rose colored or they even may not have any change in color, becoming paler than the body itself. The whole tentacles are shades of either brown or greenish and the basal disc is firmly attached to the substrate
with the only "free–floating" portion being the tentacles.
animal and has developed some mechanisms of defense and protection, it is actually quite a mobile species as far as anemones go, and the form of locomotion that it uses is crawling by way of its pedal disc. This movement of crawling is very slow and is not used in defense or in direct protection from predators. Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones instead reduce their size and draw their tentacles into their gastric cavity; their size is then reduced, and room is made in the gastric cavity by forcing most of the water out and, if their tentacles are not drawn into the gastric cavity, their volume is still reduced greatly. This approach to defense / protection allows for the surface area of these animals to be reduced enough to create less chance of a predator attacking it.
Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones have another more effective defense in their nematocysts
, which are their stinging cells, tubular parts of cnidarian’s capsule–like cells. The tips of the Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones’ tentacles are packed with nematocysts that contain a toxin. When stimulated, the nematocysts explode out of the capsule, impaling the attacker. The toxin is then discharged, causing extreme pain and paralysis.
A Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone is very aggressive towards other marine aquarium
invertebrates, and it usually fights to conserve its own space on the ocean floor.
The anemone's nematocysts help it to capture food as well as defend against predators. All prey are quickly paralyzed by the toxin–bearing nematocysts located on the tentacles; then the prey is quickly carried to the mouth, which is opened by radial muscles in the mesentery, and the prey is eventually swallowed whole and digested extracellularly as well as intracellularly.
s contain neurofilament
–like proteins that are molecularly similar to the neurons of mammals. This means that many studies can be done on the evolution of nervous systems by experimenting on present-day cnidaria
ns such as the Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones.
Sea anemone
Sea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia. Anthozoa often have large polyps that allow for digestion of larger...
that is found in coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s, shallow ocean waters, in shore areas in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
– most specifically the West Indies – and the Western Atlantic Sea, ranging from southern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
through the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
. It is also commonly known as : Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone, Giant Golden Anemone, Condylactis Anemone, Haitian anemone, Pink tipped anemone, Purple tipped anemone, and Florida Condy. This species can be easily seen growing in lagoons or on inner reefs as either individuals or loose groups, but never as colonies.
Habitat
Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone is usually found in the crevices of rock walls, attached to a rock, shell, or almost any other hard object in shallow water that experiences full–strength seawater most of the time, which may explain why the species is so common in BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone is also very common around reefs in both “forereef” and lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
areas. It can also be found at most inshore areas, on coral reefs, though this is less common. Sea anemones in general can be found anywhere from the intertidal zone
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
all the way to a depth of 30,000 feet.
Condylactis gigantea is an important member of their subtidal community by providing shelter to a variety of commensals (several fish and cleaner shrimp species) and they serve as a "base station" for fish cleaning activity.
Reproduction
The Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones' primary mating season is reported to be in late May, however they may continue to reproduce at a low levels throughout the year. This anemone is dioeciousDioecious
Dioecy is the property of a group of biological organisms that have males and females, but not members that have organs of both sexes at the same time. I.e., those whose individual members can usually produce only one type of gamete; each individual organism is thus distinctly female or male...
and hermaphroditic
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
. It has a 1:1 to sex ratio (males to females) with no evidence of brooding or of asexual reproduction or division furrowing
Cleavage furrow
In cell biology, the cleavage furrow is the indentation that begins the process of cleavage, by which animal and some algal cells undergo cytokinesis. The same proteins responsible for muscle contraction, actin and myosin begin the process of forming the cleavage furrow. This can only happen in...
.
The Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones’ reproduction scheme is defined by Jennison (1981) as oviparous → planktonic → lecithotrophic. The releasing or spawning of eggs and sperm are relatively synchronous with fertilization occurring externally in the water column. The success of fertilization depends upon the close proximity of separate sexed anemones. Fertilization produces a planula
Planula
A planula is the free-swimming, flattened, ciliated, bilaterally symmetric larval form of various cnidarian species. The planula forms from the fertilized egg of a medusa, as the case in scyphozoans and some hydrozoans, or from a polyp, as in the case of anthozoans...
larva, which derives nutrients from yolk, thus larval death by starvation is unlikely, making dispersal an advantageous strategy to survival. The planula larva will settle on the benthos
Benthos
Benthos is the community of organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone. This community lives in or near marine sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the foreshore, out to the continental shelf, and then down to the abyssal depths.Many organisms...
, develop a pedal disc
Pedal disc
The pedal disc is, in anatomy of the sea anemone, the surface opposite to the mouth, and generally serves to attach the anemone to the substrate, or hard surface, upon which it lives. It is composed of a thin tissue plate and is used by the animal to adhere to and move across the surface....
, and then, eventually grow into a fully developed anemone.
Physical appearance
A Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone, is approximately 6” (15 centimeters) high and 12” (30 centimeters) wide, making the disc diameter approximately 16” (40 centimeters) in nature. It is a large, columnar animal and can exhibit a variety of colors: white, light blue, pink, organe, pale red, or light brown. Its mouth is surrounded by 100 or more tentacleTentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
s. These tentacles differ in each individual of the species and their tips may be purple or rose colored or they even may not have any change in color, becoming paler than the body itself. The whole tentacles are shades of either brown or greenish and the basal disc is firmly attached to the substrate
Substrate (biology)
In biology a substrate is the surface a plant or animal lives upon and grows on. A substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials and animals. For example, encrusting algae that lives on a rock can be substrate for another animal that lives on top of the algae. See also substrate .-External...
with the only "free–floating" portion being the tentacles.
Behavior
Although the Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone is primarily a sessileSessility (limnology)
In limnology, sessility is that quality of an organism which rests unsupported directly on a base, either attached or unattached to a substrate. It is a characteristic of vegetation which is anchored to the benthic environment. There are two families of sessile rotifers: Flosculariidae and...
animal and has developed some mechanisms of defense and protection, it is actually quite a mobile species as far as anemones go, and the form of locomotion that it uses is crawling by way of its pedal disc. This movement of crawling is very slow and is not used in defense or in direct protection from predators. Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones instead reduce their size and draw their tentacles into their gastric cavity; their size is then reduced, and room is made in the gastric cavity by forcing most of the water out and, if their tentacles are not drawn into the gastric cavity, their volume is still reduced greatly. This approach to defense / protection allows for the surface area of these animals to be reduced enough to create less chance of a predator attacking it.
Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones have another more effective defense in their nematocysts
Cnidocyte
A cnidocyte, cnidoblast, or nematocyte is a type of venomous cell unique to the phylum Cnidaria . The cnidocyte cell provides a means for them to catch prey and defend themselves from predators. Despite being morphologically simple, lacking a skeleton and usually being sessile, cnidarians prey on...
, which are their stinging cells, tubular parts of cnidarian’s capsule–like cells. The tips of the Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones’ tentacles are packed with nematocysts that contain a toxin. When stimulated, the nematocysts explode out of the capsule, impaling the attacker. The toxin is then discharged, causing extreme pain and paralysis.
A Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone is very aggressive towards other marine aquarium
Marine aquarium
A marine aquarium is an aquarium that keeps marine plants and animals in a contained environment. Marine aquaria are further subdivided by hobbyists into fish only , fish only with live rock , and reef aquaria. Fish only tanks often showcase large or aggressive marine fish species and generally...
invertebrates, and it usually fights to conserve its own space on the ocean floor.
Diet
Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone is a macrophagous carnivore and feeds upon fish, mussels, shrimp, or any other similar organisms. It will not, however, go near any natural predators, such as Red Leg Hermits.The anemone's nematocysts help it to capture food as well as defend against predators. All prey are quickly paralyzed by the toxin–bearing nematocysts located on the tentacles; then the prey is quickly carried to the mouth, which is opened by radial muscles in the mesentery, and the prey is eventually swallowed whole and digested extracellularly as well as intracellularly.
Effects on humans
Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones don’t have any major effect on humans, except that all of the studies done on the anemones are actually helpful in the pharmaceutical and medical industries. By extracting proteins from the tissues, it is suggested that this anemone’s neuronNeuron
A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...
s contain neurofilament
Neurofilament
Neurofilaments are the 10 nanometer intermediate filaments found specifically in neurons. They are a major component of the cell's cytoskeleton, and provide support for normal axonal radial growth...
–like proteins that are molecularly similar to the neurons of mammals. This means that many studies can be done on the evolution of nervous systems by experimenting on present-day cnidaria
Cnidaria
Cnidaria is a phylum containing over 9,000 species of animals found exclusively in aquatic and mostly marine environments. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance,...
ns such as the Giant Caribbean Sea Anemones.