13 Anemones-Mid

Anemones FOCUS Question What are anemones, and how do they use their body parts to survive?

Amazing Anemones A strange, beautiful creature sits on the seafloor. With body parts that look like bright, colorful petals, it looks like a blooming plant. But it's really an animal! Anemones (uh-NEH-muh-neez) are related to corals and jellyfish. They often live attached to rocks or coral reefs. They come in all the colors of the rainbow, They come in many different shapes and sizes too. Wowser There are over 1,000 species of anemones The individuals within each species can have different colors and patterns.

Anemones are members of a group of animals without backbones, called invertebrates. Anemones don't have a head, brain, or skeleton either. Their body is shaped like a tube. It has a flattened top with a mouth in the center. The mouth is surrounded by many petallike tentacles. These long structures grab food and bring it to an anemone's mouth. From there, the food moves to the stomach. An anemone sticks the main part of its body to a surface, such as a rock. It uses its single, strong foot to keep its body firmly attached as the water moves all around it.

Many, Many Anemones Anemones live in oceans all over the world. They make their home in cold water as well as warm, tropical water You can find them on coral reefs, in tide pools, and even in the deep sea. The smallest anemone is as tiny as a pinhead. The giant green anemone, one of the largest anemones in the world, can grow up to 1 meter (3 ft.) across. Pigments in its skin give this anemone its bright green color. It often lives alone Like many anemones, it usually stays in one spot It uses its tentacles to capture prey that swim or float by. Do You Know? Sea anemones are named after anemone flowers. Anemones are sometimes called the "flowers of the sea."

On the Move Many anemones stay in one place for most of their lives. But some can use their muscular foot to slowly creep along. Other anemones can let go of the surface and move by floating away in the water. The apple anemone is also known as the "swimming anemone." When threatened, it lets go of its rock and moves to a safer place. It swims by flexing its body or moving its tentacles. The pom-pom anemone can move by changing its shape from a puffball to a tube. Then it lets the water roll it across the seafloor like a tumbleweed!

Zap! Anemones are amazing predators. They wait patiently for fish or other small animals to pass by, Then... zap! They use their stinging tentacles to catch the prey. The tentacles have many cells with tiny pockets, or capsules. The capsules are filled with venom, a poisonous liquid. When an animal touches a tentacle, a small structure shoots out of each capsule. The structures inject venom and stun the animal. The anemone then uses its tentacles to move the prey into its mouth. HOW ANEMONES STING PREY 1. Inside the cells of the tentacles are capsules called nematocysts (nuh-MA-tuh-sists). Each one is made up of a hollow thread attached to a barb. 2. An animal touches the tentacle The barb and thread shoot out. of each capsule stick into the animal and stun it with venom.