Help with ID

[cardiver]

Saw this critter at 3TN this morning and I have no clue as to what it is.

[Nwbrewer]

Brooding anemone?

[cardiver]

Thanks! I've never seen one at that was Tom's guess also.

[coachrenz]

Nice. I haven't seen one of those at Three Tree before. Where was it?

[cardiver]

Straight out at the tire piles in 70fsw.

[Sounder]

No kidding - that is cool! Those babies are TINY!!

Prehaps a question for Greg or kwbyron - how do they "leave" the parent? Do they just pack up and swim away? Do Mom/Dad kick them out?

[Tom Nic]

that was Tom's guess also.

:rr: :smt038

(Never seen one anywhere, much less TTN. Here's hoping it "broods" and has more!)

[Nwbrewer]

that was Tom's guess also.

:rr: :smt038

(Never seen one anywhere, much less TTN. Here's hoping it "broods" and has more!)

I only knew what it was because I found one at EUP. (I refuse to call it BHUT) I'll see if I can find the pic later.

EDIT: Found it.

[Dusty2]

Not really surprised. There were lots of them at KVI tower before the great shaggy mouse explosion a month or so ago and that is just across the shipping channel from 3tree. Unfortunately for them shaggies just love tender young anemones and laying their eggs in the eelgrass. Maybe this one was an escapee from KVI.

[Greg Jensen]

No kidding - that is cool! Those babies are TINY!!

Prehaps a question for Greg or kwbyron - how do they "leave" the parent? Do they just pack up and swim away? Do Mom/Dad kick them out?

The embryos come out of the mouth and are moved down into a shallow groove near the base of the column; they sprout tentacles and stay on mom for at least 3 months. Other than the yolk that they were born with, they aren't thought to be drawing any nutrition from the adult. They eventually crawl off.

[Sounder]

Like, just pack-up their stuff and go? They "crawl?" Do all anemones have this ability to crawl?

[Greg Jensen]

Yes, they can all crawl, but won't set any speed records. They just glide along on their base and move to position themselves in an area with better flow, for example. It makes it hard to plan the layout of an aquarium, as they can move from one end to the other overnight.
I suspect that anemones like Urticina coreacea (stubby rose) that are attached to buried objects probably don't move much in the wild, while these Epiactis probably move a lot since their 'substrate' of eelgrass or algae is continually sloughing off and degrading.
All of them can glide/creep while staying attached. Stomphia will release and 'swim' (basically thrash back and forth and hope the current carries them away) when touched by a leather star. I've also seen Metridium and a few others crawl across soft bottoms upside down, sort of walking with their tentacles.

[Sounder]

Huh. Who knew?!

I figured they were just stuck where they landed and that if there wasn't good enough food, they wouldn't survive. I've seen the swimming ones swim, but the crawling is weird... I can't believe they can move around. Not quite sure why this impresses me so much, but it does.

Good stuff.

I wonder what a time-lapse photography of the jackstraw pilings or I-beams would show (besides divers zooming in and out).

[coachrenz]

Huh. Who knew?!

I figured they were just stuck where they landed and that if there wasn't good enough food, they wouldn't survive. I've seen the swimming ones swim, but the crawling is weird... I can't believe they can move around. Not quite sure why this impresses me so much, but it does.

Good stuff.

I wonder what a time-lapse photography of the jackstraw pilings or I-beams would show (besides divers zooming in and out).

I would guess that it wouldn't show much. Once they are that size, I would guess that they are in a pretty good spot, which would mean no real reason to move. Now if something were to cause the water flow to change drastically, then that could provide for some pretty cool video.

[dwashbur]

that was Tom's guess also.

:rr: :smt038

(Never seen one anywhere, much less TTN. Here's hoping it "broods" and has more!)

I only knew what it was because I found one at EUP. (I refuse to call it BHUT) I'll see if I can find the pic later.

EDIT: Found it.

broodupload.JPG

Depending on the time of year, they can often be found all over the eelgrass at EUP. Most of them are pretty small, which makes getting a good picture interesting, to say the least. Yours is a very nice one!

[Biodiversity_Guy]

Here are a couple of shots I got out at Neah Bay this August. On Kelp.

[Dusty2]

Here are a couple of shots I got out at Neah Bay this August. On Kelp.

Wow Awesome shots! Those are the best I have seen of these guys.

[Biodiversity_Guy]

Thanks. It was quite fun to encounter them. This was the first time I had seen them in the wild.

[dwashbur]

Here's one we found at EUP yesterday. They were all over the eelgrass and other seaweeds along Jetty Way. How small are they? That black thing is my wife's glove fingertip to the left of it.

[thelawgoddess]

Saw this critter at 3TN this morning and I have no clue as to what it is.

Love your photo! It almost makes it looks like something else (besides an anemone).