Sea anemones
At
first you could almost think these really were flowers until
they close up when you touch them. Most plants don't do that.
Sea anemones are very simple animals. There are lots of things
they don't have that other animals do. Anemones have no head,
no brain, no stomach and no eyes. So how do they eat without
a stomach? Simple: they digest their food inside their mouths.
When finished, they spit it out again.
| Sea
anemones only have a top and bottom end no front or
back end, or left and right sides. They are built the same
out in all directions. They are not closely related to animals
that do have heads. Their tentacles can stretch out long
and thin, or contract to become short and fat. There are
stinging cells all over the tentacles, like thousands of
tiny bee stings, ready to sting small animals (plankton)
and catch them for food. |
 |
Touch
the tentacles of a sea anemone and they feel slightly sticky.
That's the stinging cells. Fortunately they are not powerful
enough to go through your skin. You can just feel them but they
can¹t sting you.
Sea anemones can move slowly. They sort of stretch sideways
and slide along, a little bit at a time.
Did you know?
When the tide goes out, sea anemones on the shore close up and
hold on to a mouthful of water. This keeps them wet until the
tide comes back in again.
