Stats

Lifespan: Decades
Size: Large
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Cathemeral
Social: Solitary
Biome: Rocky intertidal zone
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Venom
Status: Common

About

The Starburst Anemone is a solitary sea anemone found in rocky intertidal zones along the Pacific coast of North America, where its column can reach 10 cm across. Unlike its clonal relatives, it lives alone — and its tentacles harbor symbiotic zooxanthellae algae that supply energy through photosynthesis, tinting the anemone vivid green in sunlit pools.

Life cycle

1.
planula larva
A free-swimming planula larva drifts with the current, coated in fine cilia, before settling onto a hard surface.
2.
juvenile polyp
A settled juvenile polyp anchors to rock and grows its first ring of short tentacles.
3.
adult
Fully grown, anchored in place with a full crown of stinging tentacles.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Actiniaria
Family: Actiniidae
Genus: Anthopleura
Species: Anthopleura sola