Venus flytrap sea anemone

Venus flytrap sea anemone
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Class:	Hexacorallia
Order:	Actiniaria
Family:	Actinoscyphiidae
Genus:	Actinoscyphia
Species:	A. aurelia
Binomial name
Actinoscyphia aurelia (Stephenson, 1918)[1]
Synonyms[1]
Actinernus aurelia Stephenson, 1918[2]

The Venus flytrap sea anemone (Actinoscyphia aurelia) is a large sea anemone that superficially resembles a Venus flytrap. It closes its tentacles to capture prey or to protect itself. It is a deep ocean species.

Distribution

This sea anemone is found in muddy situations at

During deep water research off Cap Blanc, Mauritania, at depths between 1,000 and 2,000 metres (3,300 and 6,600 ft), the Venus flytrap sea anemone and the irregular sea urchin Pourtalesia miranda were found to dominate the benthic community.^[4]

In 2004 a mass mortality event occurred adjoining an oil pipeline off the Ivory Coast. Large numbers of the tunicate Pyrosoma atlanticum were involved, the moribund carcasses sinking to the seabed and accumulating in canyons and by the pipeline. Species found feeding on the gelatinous detritus varied by depth. At a depth of 900 metres (3,000 ft) few fish were present, but Venus flytrap sea anemones were numerous. Other scavenging invertebrates at this depth included the sea anemone Actinostola sp., the sea pen Pennatula sp., the sea urchins Phormosoma sp. and Mesothuria sp., brittle stars in the family Ophiolepididae, the penaeid shrimp Parapenaeus sp. and the sea spider Colossendeis sp.^[6]

References