Cnidaria · cnidarians

Frilled anemone

Metridium senile

Metridiidae · plumose anemonesIUCN: Not evaluated
Frilled anemone
Photo: Stan Shebs · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A tall white or orange anemone with a feathery crown, common on Northeast pilings and wrecks.

Fun factIt clones itself by tearing off bits of its base, so a whole wreck can be covered by copies of one anemone.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, North Pacific
Depth zone
Coastal shallows & estuaries, Continental shelf
Diet
Zooplankton
Size
Up to 30 cm tall

Classification

Cnidaria › Anthozoa › Actiniaria › Metridiidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Phylum Cnidaria cnidarians
    • Radially symmetric bodies with one opening that is both mouth and anus
    • Stinging cells (cnidocytes) fire tiny harpoons (nematocysts)
    • Two body forms: an attached polyp and a swimming bell (medusa)
  3. Class Anthozoa corals & anemones
    • Live only as polyps; there is no swimming jellyfish stage
    • Gut is divided by internal walls (mesenteries)
    • Includes corals and sea anemones
  4. Subclass Hexacorallia stony corals & anemones
    • Tentacles and internal walls come in multiples of six
    • Includes stony corals and sea anemones
  5. Order Actiniaria sea anemones
    • Sea anemones: single, soft-bodied polyps without a skeleton
    • Grip surfaces with a muscular base (pedal disc) and can slowly move
    • Catch prey with a ring of stinging tentacles around the mouth
  6. Family Metridiidae plumose anemones
    • Tall anemones with a crown of many fine, feathery tentacles
    • Often clone themselves by tearing off pieces of their base
  7. Genus Metridium
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  8. Species Metridium senile Frilled anemone

Closest relatives in the guide