The Strawberry Anemone, or Corynactis californica, is a bright and colorful sea anemone. It’s part of the Corallimorpharia family, which makes it different from the Atlantic true sea anemone.
This species is the only one of its kind found on the North American West Coast. You might also hear it called a Club-tipped Anemone or Strawberry Corallimorpharian.
Where Does the Strawberry Anemone Live?
Strawberry Anemones prefer to live deep in the sea, about 50 meters down. They like to be on vertical rock walls, and at the bottom of kelp forests.
Some places have a lot of these Strawberry Anemones, like Campbell River in British Columbia, and Monterey Bay in California. They can cover the whole bottom of these areas, like a carpet.
What Does the Strawberry Anemone Look Like?
The Strawberry Anemone is small, no bigger than 2.5 centimeters. It can be many different colors, like red, pink, purple, brown, yellow, or even white.
It has tentacles that are white or see-through with round tips. They look like sea anemones because they don’t have a hard skeleton, but they’re actually closer to stony corals.
The Strawberry Anemones don’t have basilar muscles and they don’t have photosynthetic symbionts.
What Are Photosynthetic Symbionts?
Photosynthetic symbionts are tiny plants that live inside some sea creatures.
They make food for the creature using sunlight. But the Strawberry Anemone doesn’t have these.
How Does the Strawberry Anemone Reproduce?
The Strawberry Anemone can have babies in two ways: sexually and asexually.
Asexual reproduction helps them cover more ground. This means they can make copies of themselves without needing a partner.
What Does It Mean to Reproduce Sexually and Asexually?
When an animal reproduces sexually, it needs a partner. The two partners mix their genes to make a new, different animal.
When an animal reproduces asexually, it makes a copy of itself without mixing genes. The new animal is exactly the same as the parent.
How Does the Strawberry Anemone Behave?
The Strawberry Anemone is known to fight with other sea anemones and corals. They do this to take over the areas left behind by the previous animals.
Strawberry Anemones use toxins, or poisons, that they pass through touching for a long time. They use the same method to protect themselves and to eat.
What Is the Strawberry Anemone’s Habitat Like?
The Strawberry Anemone grows well in the shade of big seaweeds. Some of these seaweeds are Macrocystis pyrifera and Eisenia arborea.
The Eisenia arborea may help the anemone by protecting its babies and directing food particles to the anemone.
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Corallimorpharia |
| Family: | Corallimorphidae |
| Genus: | Corynactis |
| Scientific Name: | Corynactis californica |
| Also Known As: | Strawberry Anemone, Club-tipped Anemone, Strawberry Corallimorpharian |
| Conservation Status: | Unknown |