Hydrophobic sea anemone - Hydrophobic sea anemone

A marine animal belonging to the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Hexacorallia, order Actiniaria, family Actiniidae. It is distributed from Sagami Bay northward, in the Tohoku region, and Hokkaido, and is also known from the Korean Peninsula. It is a member of the Armored Sea Anemone family, with a pale pink peripheral ball at the top of the body wall and vertical rows of suction warts on the body wall. Both the body height and width are small, less than 2 cm. The oral disc and body wall are dark red, with the upper body wall and oral disc tinged with fluorescent green in places. The tentacles are red, the anti-oral side is tinged with fluorescent dark green, and the sides of the mouth are scattered with many white spots. It grows in colonies in tide pools in the rocky intertidal zone of the Tohoku region and Hokkaido. Its body walls are red and it is closely related to the armoured sea anemone, so it was named after it, as it resembles a suit of scarlet armour.

[Hiroomi Uchida]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

刺胞(しほう)動物門花虫(はなむし)綱六放サンゴ亜綱イソギンチャク目ウメボシイソギンチャク科に属する海産動物。相模(さがみ)湾以北、東北地方、北海道に分布し、朝鮮半島からも知られる。体壁上端に淡紅色の周辺球をもち、体壁には縦に列生する吸着疣(いぼ)をもつヨロイイソギンチャクの仲間。体高、体幅はともに小さくて2センチメートル以下。口盤および体壁は暗赤色で、体壁上部や口盤はところにより蛍光緑色を帯びる。触手は紅色で反口側は蛍光暗緑色を帯び、口側面には多くの白点を散布する。東北地方や北海道の岩礁性潮間帯の潮だまりに群生する。体壁が赤色をしていて、ヨロイイソギンチャクに近縁なことから、緋縅(ひおどし)の鎧(よろい)に見立てて名づけられた。

［内田紘臣］

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