IV. THE SEA ANEMONES
In the last century many of the animals of the ocean were considered plants, and the sea anemones, which appear to open and shut like flowers, were described and painted in verse and prose as the flowers in the gardens of the sea. The sea anemone, common in almost every rocky pool, and found everywhere from the rocks bare at low tide to the greater depths, certainly has a very flowerlike appearance, some of them resembling a flower without a stem. Petals branch out on every side. Some are large, some small, and as though to carry out the idea the anemones are of all possible shapes and colors. Some are vivid red, others blue, some almost white, others spotted black and white, brown and barred. Almost every color is seen. Some are tall and slender, five or six inches high; others are flat. Some live in exposed places, as the luminous form attached to the shell of a hermit crab in Figure 29. Others bury themselves in the sand or hide beneath large jellyfishes, displaying the most remarkable tastes and fancies. Little wonder that the ancients believed that they were flowers. But touch one, and presto! it appears to draw within itself, and becomes a mere mound in place of the gorgeous creature which spread its splendors to the current.
The sea anemone is a highly organized animal several degrees above the jellyfishes in the scale of life, yet a very humble creature after all. They are tubular in shape, and are attached to the rocks by a sucking disk which clings so tightly that it is only with great difficulty they are forced off. Yet they have the power of moving, and slowly, very slowly, drag themselves along. Some move perhaps three or four inches a day; but this would be a long journey for many anemones, and the greatest number are fixed for life and live in crevices in the rocks. The only one I ever saw actually moving was traveling slowly across the glass of a tank. As it moved small pieces of the disk appeared to be torn off and left behind, each of which grew into a perfect sea anemone.
Fig. 29.—Sea anemones—one in the upper right hand corner is a luminous form on a hermit crab.
On the upper portion around the rim are the tentacles, armed with the same kind of ammunition (Fig. 30) found in the jellyfish, namely, lassos. In the center is the mouth.
