How do these organisms move? Animal anemone: habitats, appearance, lifestyle Sea anemones

Yellow sand, waves hitting the shore, tropical trees, and the water in the sea is so transparent that stones and... flowers are visible at the bottom. Flowers?

But how can they grow under water? This doesn't happen! Although this statement can still be argued. Indeed, you were not mistaken, at the bottom of the sea you can see sea inhabitants of extraordinary beauty - anemones, which got their name for their resemblance to the Anemone flower.

But here animals are like flowers. Anemone is not a plant, but an animal, better known to all of us as.

Anemones or sea anemones- close relatives of corals, but if corals are colonies of polyps, anemones are large polyps themselves.

Their structure is very simple and has undergone little change over millions of years. They are practically a "skin bag" that is inflated with water, which gives them a certain shape.

Attached to the bottom or to rocks and shells lying on the bottom, sea anemones gracefully sway their “petals,” like flowers in the wind.

The cylindrical stalk body ends at the top with a delicate corolla of numerous tentacle petals.

And what colors are not found in nature: pink, green, blue, yellow, purple and violet.

Their size sometimes does not exceed a few millimeters, and sometimes reaches 15 centimeters. It all depends on the type of sea anemone, and there are not many of them, no less than 1500, found in almost all seas of the world, except the Caspian and Aral Sea.

They live in arctic latitudes and on the equator, in the sands on the shore and in areas deprived of light. sea ​​depths over 10,000 meters. However, most sea anemone species prefer shallow coastal shallow waters and water with fairly high salinity. Some species have a sucker-like leg for attaching to something, while others burrow their legs into the soil. Over the course of a million-year existence, they have undergone little change.

But such beauty is far from safe for others sea ​​creatures.

The sea anemone is carnivorous. As soon as a small fish or shrimp touches the “petals” of a plant, or rather it would be more correct to call it an animal from now on, it will immediately receive a share of a strong paralyzing poison. Next, the tentacles direct the prey to the center of the corolla, to the mouth opening, where the juice of the pharynx and stomach finally deals with it.

Also, the tentacles serve not only as a source of food, but also as a protector from larger sea inhabitants that are not averse to feasting on sea anemones. Among sea anemones there are: peaceful views which suck nutrients from sea ​​water, and predators.

And there are such “smart” predator anemones that can distinguish between edible and inedible, and there are others, especially hungry ones, who drag everything into their mouths indiscriminately, even objects that are dangerous to them.

It seems that the sea anemone is such a small bloodthirsty monster at the bottom of the seas, and the desire to touch the wonder with your hands immediately disappeared. And for good reason.

There are giant anemones (Stoichactis, Condylactis spp.) and trumpet anemones (Pachycerianthus spp.) that have dangerous stinging appendages and should not be touched with bare hands, especially in sensitive areas such as the outer crease of the elbow or the back of the hand. One touch can cause a burn, like a poisonous jellyfish.

You will learn about other “colors” of the sea - corals in the topic

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Sea anemones are large coral polyps that, unlike most other corals, have a soft body. Sea anemone is classified as a separate order in the class Coral polyps In addition to corals, sea anemones are related to other coelenterate animals - jellyfish. They received their second name, sea anemones, for their extraordinary beauty and external resemblance with flowers.

Colony of sun anemones (Tubastrea coccinea)

The body of sea anemones consists of a cylindrical leg and a corolla of tentacles. The leg is formed by longitudinal and circular muscles, which allow the body of the sea anemone to bend, shorten and stretch. The leg may have a thickening at the lower end - a pedal disk or sole. In some sea anemones, the ectoderm (skin) of the legs secretes hardening mucus, with the help of which they stick to a solid substrate, in others it is wide and swollen, such species are anchored in loose soil with the help of the sole. The leg of sea anemones of the genus Minyas is even more surprising: their sole has a bubble - a pneumocystis, which plays the role of a float. These sea anemones swim upside down in the water. The tissue of the leg consists of individual muscle fibers immersed in a mass of intercellular substance - mesoglea. Mesoglea can have a very thick consistency, similar to cartilage, so the sea anemone leg is elastic to the touch.

Single sun anemone with translucent tentacles

At the upper end of the body, sea anemones have an oral disc surrounded by one or several rows of tentacles. All tentacles of one row are the same, but in different rows they can differ greatly in length, structure and color.

Deep sea anemone (Urticina felina)

In general, the body of sea anemones is radially symmetrical, in most cases it can be divided into 6 parts, for this reason they are even classified as a subclass Six-rayed corals. The tentacles are armed with stinging cells that can shoot thin poisonous threads. The mouth opening of sea anemones can be round or oval. It leads into the pharynx, which opens into a blindly closed gastric cavity (something like a stomach).

Often at the ends of the tentacles you can see swellings formed by accumulations of stinging cells

Sea anemones are quite primitive animals; they do not have complex sensory organs. Their nervous system represented by groups of sensitive cells located at vital points - around the oral disc, at the base of the tentacles and on the sole. Nerve cells specialize in different types external influences. So, nerve cells on the sole of the sea anemone are sensitive to mechanical influences, but do not respond to chemical ones, and nerve cells near the oral disc, on the contrary, distinguish substances, but do not respond to mechanical stimuli.

Bubble-like thickenings at the ends of the tentacles of Entacmaea quadricolor

Most sea anemones have a naked body, but trumpet sea anemones have a chitinous outer covering, so their leg looks like a tall, hard tube. In addition, some species may include grains of sand and other elements in their ectoderm. construction material, which strengthens their integument. The color of sea anemones is very diverse; even representatives of the same species can have different shades. These animals come in all the colors of the rainbow - red, pink, yellow, orange, green, brown, white. Often the tips of the tentacles have a contrasting color, which makes them colorful. The size of sea anemones varies within very wide limits. The smallest sea anemone (Gonactinia prolifera) has a height of only 2-3 mm, and the diameter of the oral disc is 1-2 mm. The largest carpet anemone can reach a diameter of 1.5 m, and the sausage sea anemone (Metridium farcimen) reaches a height of 1 m!

The carpet anemone (Stoichactis haddoni) has tiny wart-like tentacles, but can reach a diameter of 1.5 m

Sea anemones are common in all seas and oceans of our planet. Largest number species are concentrated in tropical and subtropical zone, but these animals can also be found in the polar regions. For example, sea anemone metridium senile, or sea pink, is found in all seas of the Arctic Ocean basin.

Cold-water anemone metridium senile, or sea pink (Metridium senile)

The habitats of sea anemones cover all depths: from the surf zone, where during low tides sea anemones can literally find themselves on land, to the very depths of the ocean. Of course, few species live at depths greater than 1000 m, but they have adapted to such unfavorable environment. Despite the fact that sea anemones are purely marine animals, some species tolerate slight desalination. Thus, 4 species are known in the Black Sea, and one is found even in the Azov Sea.

Deep sea tube anemone (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus)

Anemones that live in shallow water often contain microscopic algae in their tentacles, which gives them a greenish tint and partially supplies their hosts with nutrients. Such anemones live only in illuminated places and are active mainly during the day, since they depend on the intensity of photosynthesis of green algae. Other species, on the contrary, do not like light. Sea anemones living in the tidal zone have a clear daily rhythm associated with periodic flooding and drying of the territory.

Anthopleura xanthogrammica lives in symbiosis with green algae

In general, all types of sea anemones can be divided into three groups according to their lifestyle: sessile, swimming (pelagic) and burrowing. The vast majority of species belong to the first group; only sea anemones of the genus Minyas are swimming, and the burrowing lifestyle is characteristic only of sea anemones of the genera Edwardsia, Haloclava, and Peachia.

This green sea anemone lives in the Philippines

Sedentary sea anemones, despite their name, are capable of moving slowly. Usually sea anemones move when something does not suit them in their old place (in search of food, due to insufficient or excessive light, etc.). To do this they use several methods. Some sea anemones bend their body and attach to the ground with an oral disc, after which they tear off the leg and move it to a new place. This tumbling “from head to toe” is similar to the method of movement of sessile jellyfish. Other sea anemones move only the sole, alternately tearing off different sections of it from the ground. Finally, the Aiptasia anemones fall on their sides and crawl like worms, alternately cutting different parts of the leg.

Single tube anemone

This method of movement is also similar to burrowing species. Burrowing sea anemones don't actually burrow that much, most They sit in one place for a while, and they were called burrowers for their ability to burrow deep into the ground, so that only the corolla of the tentacles sticks out. To dig a hole, the sea anemone resorts to a trick: it draws water into the gastric cavity and closes the mouth opening. Then, alternately pumping water from one end of the body to the other, it, like a worm, goes deeper into the ground.

The tallest sea anemone is Metridium farcimen.

Small sessile gonactinia can sometimes swim, rhythmically moving its tentacles (such movements are similar to contractions of the dome of a jellyfish). Swimming sea anemones rely more on the strength of currents and are held passively on the surface of the water by means of pneumocystis.

Lush colony of sea carnations (metridiums)

Sea anemones are solitary polyps, but under favorable conditions they can form large clusters similar to flowering gardens. Most sea anemones are indifferent to their fellows, but some have a quarrelsome “character”. When such species come into contact with a neighbor, they release stinging cells; when they come into contact with the enemy’s body, they cause necrosis of its tissues. But sea anemones are often “friends” with other species of animals. Most shining example- symbiosis (cohabitation) of sea anemones and amphiprions, or clown fish. Clown fish take care of the sea anemone, clearing it of unnecessary debris and food debris, and sometimes pick up the remains of its prey; the sea anemone, in turn, eats up what is left of the amphiprion's prey. Also, tiny shrimps often play the role of cleaners and parasites, which find refuge from enemies in the tentacles of sea anemones.

Shrimp in the tentacles of a giant sea anemone (Condylactis gigantea)

The cooperation of hermit crabs with adamsia sea anemones has gone even further. Adamsias generally live independently only at a young age, and then they are picked up by hermit crabs and attached to shells, which serve as their home. Crayfish attach the sea anemone not only as if, but precisely with the oral disc forward, thanks to this the sea anemone is always provided with food particles that reach it from the sand disturbed by the cancer. In turn, the hermit crab receives an anemone in the face reliable protection from your enemies. Moreover, he transfers the sea anemone from one shell to another every time he changes his house. If a crayfish does not have an anemone, it tries to find it in any way, and more often, take it away from a happier brother.

Sea anemones perceive their prey differently. Some species swallow everything that touches their hunting tentacles (pebbles, paper, etc.), others spit out inedible objects. These polyps feed on a variety of animal foods: some species play the role of filter feeders, extracting the smallest food particles and organic debris from the water, while others kill larger prey - small fish that inadvertently approach the tentacles. Sea anemones, living in symbiosis with algae, feed mostly on their green “friends.” During the hunt, the sea anemone keeps its tentacles spread out, and when satisfied, hides them in a tight ball, covering itself with the edges of the body. The anemones shrink into a ball and in case of danger or when drying out on the shore (during low tide), well-fed individuals can remain in this state for many hours.

Colony of sun anemones hiding their tentacles

Sea anemones can reproduce asexually and sexually. Asexual reproduction occurs through longitudinal division, when the body of the sea anemone is divided into two individuals. Only in the most primitive gonactinia does transverse division occur, when a mouth grows in the middle of the leg, and then it splits into two independent organisms. Some sea anemones may experience a kind of budding, when several young organisms separate from the sole at once. Ability to asexual reproduction causes a high ability for tissue regeneration: sea anemones easily restore severed body parts.

The same sun anemones, but with extended tentacles

Most sea anemones are dioecious, although males do not differ in appearance from females. Only in some species can both male and female reproductive cells be formed simultaneously. Sperm and eggs are formed in the mesoglea of ​​sea anemones, but fertilization can occur either in external environment, and in the gastric cavity. During the first week of life, sea anemone larvae (planulae) move freely in the water column and during this time they are carried by currents over long distances. In some sea anemones, planulae develop in special pockets on the body of the mother.

Touching the tentacles of large sea anemones can cause painful burns from the stinging cells, but deaths unknown. Some types of anemones (carpet, horse or strawberry, etc.) are kept in aquariums.

Any sea anemone is extremely beautiful. Therefore, sea anemones are often called sea anemones. This has already become official name, they received for their external resemblance to plant flowers. And indeed, underwater landscapes decorated with sea anemones sitting on them can be compared to an exotic flowerbed.

• They do not have an axial skeleton and are therefore invertebrates.
• These beauties belong to the type of coelenterates and are the closest relatives of corals.

And although sea anemones always live solitarily, and corals always form colonies, both of these groups of animals have many common features in the building.

Dear ecological guests, today you will find amazing video meetings with unusual animals!

How does a polyp of coelenterates work?

Sea anemone - metridium senile (Sea of ​​Japan)

Metridium senile - sea anemone, the photo of which you see on this page, demonstrates the structure of an individual polyp. A polyp is a single form of this animal. Therefore, one sea anemone is one polyp. And coral has many polyps that form a colony.

But internal structure and their principle of life is the same. An individual polyp resembles a two-layer sac, open at one end, with one hole, inside of which there is an “intestinal” cavity.

Digestion of food takes place in this cavity, and the hole acts as a mouth. And through the same hole, undigested food remains are thrown out of the polyp’s body. The mouth is surrounded by a ring of tentacles.

Watch a fragment of a hand-drawn cartoon about how sea anemones feed.

Video, sea anemone:

So, you were careful and saw that first the sea anemone put the caught fish into its mouth, and then threw out their skeletons. Amazing, isn't it?

Imagine - sea anemones are very similar in structure!

If we turn the jellyfish with its dome down, we will see all the features of the sea anemone polyp:

• After all, the jellyfish also has one hole - it serves as a mouth and a place for throwing out waste.
• The jellyfish has tentacles with which it catches food, and the sea anemone also has them.
• If you stretch out the dome of a jellyfish, you get the elongated body of an anemone.

You can even try to make this transformation of a jellyfish into an anemone on a plasticine model.

Make a jellyfish out of plasticine, and then pull its dome down in the form of a tube and move the tentacles closer. Attach the lower part of the tube to something durable - and here you have an anemone!

What types of sea anemones are there?

There are a wide variety of sea anemone species in nature. In total, there are approximately 1,500 species of these animals that live only in the sea. Freshwater anemones, unlike jellyfish, do not exist in nature. The sizes of sea anemones vary over a very wide range:

• the body diameter of the sea anemone ranges from a few millimeters to 1.5 m;
• height can reach 1 m;

Most sea anemones have a high, elongated column-shaped body, in the upper part of which there is a mouth, surrounded by numerous long tentacles carrying stinging cells with poison. Their lower part is attached to the underwater substrate.

But among sea anemones there is one amazing family. See what these sea anemones look like in an aquarium.

Video, sea anemone:

With the help of this video, you got acquainted with an anemone called Amplexidiscus fenestrafer or Great Elephant Ear from the Discosoma family. Isn't it a very apt and telling name?

Representatives of the discosoma family (Discosomatidae) are the most amazing sea anemones!

The body of the discosoma has the shape of a flexible disk, which is covered from the inside with cone-shaped tentacles. At the bottom of the disk there is a sole for attaching the animal to the substrate. In the upper central part of the disk there is a rather large mouth - the oral opening.

They are painted in almost all the colors of the rainbow: green, yellow, lilac, purple and others. Disc diameter - up to 40 cm

Symbiosis in the life of sea anemones

Sea anemone and hermit crab are the most common example of symbiosis (mutually beneficial cooperation) among sea anemones. The hermit crab is a means of transportation for sea anemones, since sea anemones move very slowly on their own. Sea anemone, whose tentacles have stinging cells, provides protection to the hermit crab.

XI INTERNATIONAL DISTANCE OLYMPIAD “ERUDITE” ON THE SUBJECT OF THE WORLD AROUND

Sample answers to assignments for grade 4

The maximum number of points awarded for completed tasks is 100 points

Task No. 1 (max 20 points):

Look carefully at the images of living organisms located in the table below.

How do these organisms move? If the method of transportation is unknown to you, then guess it.

If any of these living organisms have different ways movement, then be sure to indicate this.

If any organisms are familiar to you, write their names.

Z Task No. 2 (max 20 points):

You, like all Russian children, are probably very familiar with this cartoon character - a hedgehog lost in the fog. Most likely, you have seen a real, live hedgehog more than once in your life. But is it as familiar to you as it seems at first glance?

Answers on questions:

What reserves does a hedgehog make for the winter?

The hedgehog does not store supplies for the winter, since in winter it hibernates.

Where does he hide them?

AND

Rice. No. 1: Hedgehog in the fog.

What does a hedgehog eat during the long, long winter?

Sleeping. It is in a state of hibernation.

Additional explanation:

Common hedgehogs They do not store food for the winter - neither apples, nor mushrooms, nor anything like that, since they are insectivorous animals.

In winter, the hedgehog hibernates. And during hibernation, the hedgehog uses its fat reserves accumulated in summer/autumn.

Task No. 3 (max 20 points):

Answers to biological mysteries:

Who has more legs: five octopuses or four squids?

Same number of legs.

Octopuses have 8 legs, i.e. 8*5=40,

Squids have 10 legs, i.e. 4*10=40

Therefore, the same number of legs, i.e. 40 legs each.

This animal has two right legs and two left legs, two legs in front and the same number in back. How many legs does this animal have?

Four

Which berries with the letter “M” are sweet, and those with the letter “K” are bitter?

"M" - raspberry

"K" - viburnum

What kind of grain can grow... on a person?

Stye on the eye

Waist of which animal is the reference sample thin waist for all women?

Wasp waist (wasp waist)

The name of which bird is heard all the time in the scaffolding?

Myna is a pink starling and the construction team "put it down!"

« Economic breed» dogs are

Breed Dachshund (dachshund - this is clear set level tariffs, prices, payments).

Whose eyes are not afraid, but love to look at the sun?

Pansy (decorative flower).

Name the climbing animals.

Geckos (reptiles)

Which waterfowl wrote famous books?

Gogol

Task No. 4 (max 10 points):

Remember what you know about the structure of the human body.

Please take a close look at the table below.

Distribute the organs of the human body into their corresponding organ systems, using numbers and letters.

You can simply write the letters representing the organs in the column with organ systems.

Task No. 5 (max 20 points):

Take a close look at the matrix below and its hints.

Fill out the matrix by entering the missing letters in the names of the animals.

Please note that the names of all these animals end in -KA.

Find out how well you know animals?

Hints for the task.

An animal that looks like a mouse, but with a muzzle elongated into a proboscis.

One of the varieties bats with very wide ears.

A shrew with the tops of its teeth colored brown-red.

A rodent that lives in steppes and deserts with a very short tail.

A small red rodent, very similar to a rat, but with a tufted tail, living in the desert.

Little monkey.

Harvest mouse.

A small rodent, similar to both a mouse and a jerboa, its tail is much longer than its body.

The largest of the toothed whales.

Barking pet.

Meowing pet.

Cute furry animal.

Artificially bred fur-bearing animal.

A small predatory animal.

Task No. 6 (max 10 points):

Try to guess old, Russian, folk riddles.

Any person who saw this amazing creature, is primarily interested in: is sea anemone an animal or a plant? Many are misled by the definition of this creature - “sea anemone”: nevertheless, most people know that an anemone is a flower. The amazingly beautiful ones that have managed to adapt to life in the form of rather vulnerable organisms amaze the imagination: you just want to take them with you, protect and shelter them. Not worth it! First of all, it’s not for nothing that these creatures are sometimes called “jellyfish-anemones”: they are quite capable of standing up, and not only for themselves. And secondly, you are unlikely to be able to create suitable living conditions for them. So, while at the resort, just enjoy the view of them and try not to swim too close, so as not to treat the rather painful burns after.

Appearance

It is the appearance of these creatures that gives rise to the eternal question: is sea anemone an animal or a plant? And by the way, until the end of the 19th century they were classified as plant species. However, science does not stand still: it has been established that “sea anemones” are animals that, in their structure and lifestyle, are close to jellyfish and other coelenterates, to which many biologists include ctenophores.

If we explain it in a primitive way, then any sea anemone (photos are presented) is one continuous mouth on a stalk. The flower-like “petals” are the tentacles responsible for delivering food. Most often, the “stand” has a flat sole, with which the “sea anemones” are attached to a rock or hard bottom; but there are species with a pointed limb - they are stuck into the bottom like a bouquet; And there are floating varieties. Observing the behavior of these creatures, you will no longer be puzzled: is sea anemone an animal or a plant? It immediately becomes clear that she is not just an animal - she is a predator.

Sea anemones are not polyps

It would also be a mistake to say that this most beautiful creature is coral. The sea anemone is, without a doubt, very close to the polyps that form the islands that captivate everyone. However, they do not form a skeleton, and corals are the skeletons of polyps. At the same time, it cannot be said that sea anemone is “soft-bodied”, since the substance that fills the space between its cells forms a very thick layer and is similar in density to cartilage in vertebrates.

What do they eat?

Another argument in doubt is whether sea anemone is an animal or plant - its diet. If those interested remember, plants feed on water (with substances dissolved in it) and what they can get from the soil. However, sea anemones prefer a completely different menu. It includes small invertebrates and small fish(if you're lucky). The method of obtaining food is also completely non-vegetative: the tentacles paralyze the prey and pull it towards the mouth. Some may object: this is also known, but they cannot boast of a mouth and dissolve prey with enzymes located directly on the leaf plate or in a trap flower. That is, they do not have organs intended exclusively for digestion.

Impact on the victim

Even if we assume that sea anemone is a plant, then we must look for an explanation for its hunting method. In each stinging cell- albeit a very, very small one - there is a kind of capsule in which the poison is contained. And on the outside there is a stinging thread with spines facing backwards. Visually, under a microscope, this entire device resembles a miniature harpoon. When an anemone attacks, the thread straightens, the needle pierces the victim’s body and releases poison. Not a single plant has such a complex structure - they are much lower on the evolutionary ladder and have a much simpler structure.

By the way, the stinging venom of sea anemones is dangerous even for such a large organism as a person. Of course, it will not lead to death, but it will cause a burning sensation with itching, and in some cases, necrosis will develop. Almost all of those who regularly interact with gentle “anemones” have allergies.

Famous symbiosis

It must be said that most sea flowers lead a sedentary lifestyle. However, updating the hunting grounds is what any sea anemone needs. Movement is usually accomplished through symbionts. The most famous of them (familiar thanks to the touching Soviet cartoon) is the hermit crab. The most interesting thing is that this shellfish itself transfers to its “shell” a creature that is deadly for mollusks. Enough for a long time they coexist peacefully: the crayfish carries the sea flower from place to place, the sea anemone repels the attacks made against it natural enemies. However, everything is not so rosy: the “leg” of the sea “flower” easily dissolves the organic matter that makes up the host’s shell, after which the cancer comes to an end.

Moving sea anemones

Even those sea anemones that are designed by nature to “sit” in place can move. In the end, the small inhabitants of the oceans, as people say, are “no dumber than a steam locomotive” and over time they realize the danger of some bottom area. Accordingly, ocean flowers are forced to migrate because they hunting grounds become impoverished. What does the average sea anemone do in this case? She moves slowly but surely. The sole is separated from the bottom, extended a short distance, secured and tightens the rest of the body. However, small species (like gonactinia) can even swim, straightening their tentacles back.

Fish-anemone cooperation

It must be said that ocean anemones symbiote not only with hermit crabs. They also travel on other armored animals (however, for carriers this usually ends the same way, even in the case of small varieties). However, sea anemones can coexist quite peacefully with fish. Off the Australian coast, the largest sea anemones on earth (their “mouth” is often not limited to one and a half meters in diameter) give shelter among their tentacles to amphiprions - very bright fish that feed the “host” with fallen food debris, and with the work of their fins they create additional aeration for it. At the same time, anemones are quite capable of distinguishing their friends from other fish and actively protect them from predatory attacks.

Reproduction of sea anemones

They give preference to the sexual method, which is another proof that sea ​​flowers- animals, not plants. However, under unfavorable conditions, they can use budding, in which you begin to remember the misconception about “anemone is a plant,” and longitudinal or transverse division. This is especially true for small varieties. The same gonactinia tends to split across. It is extremely interesting to observe: first of all, a wreath of tentacles grows around the circumference of the body, and then it divides. The upper half grows a sole, the lower half grows a “mouth” and another set of goads. It is noteworthy that the second division does not wait until the end of the first, so that the sea anemone of this species can be surrounded by several rings of tentacles, foreshadowing the imminent appearance of several individuals.

You can check whether an anemone is an animal or a plant at by example. Sea anemones do not regard humans as either an enemy or prey. So, when touched by a person, they simply curl up (if you don’t fiddle with them, of course). You could say they are hiding. As for the rest, the sea anemone (the photos demonstrate this) is very beautiful and interesting creature, which is interesting even just to watch.