Dohrns Tube-Dwelling Anemone is a species in the subclass of the Octocorallia and thus belongs to the class of the Anthozoa. Pachycerianthus dohrni was first described by Van Beneden in 1823.
Description, Anatomy and Characteristics
Dohrns Tube-Dwelling Anemone belongs to the Cerianthidae family. They do not form a hard skeleton or a basal disc, but stick to the ground with a trunk up to 40cm long, although most of the stem is hidden in the ground. The rear part ends in a pointed point, while the front part has two tentacle crowns: an inner crown of thin, short tentacles (oral) and an outer crown of thick, up to 12cm long tentacles (peripheral).
The colouration of Pachycerianthus dohrni is very variable. The inner and outer crowns can be of the same or different colours and can also be multicoloured. They are available in brown, white, violet, olive green, orange, beige and probably quite different from what you would have thought possible.
Habitat, Distribution & Occurrence
Dohrns Tube-Dwelling Anemone lives on rocky and sandy soils at depths between 5 and 100m. It seems to prefer areas with low water movement.
While diving on the Canary Islands you can observe Pachycerianthus dohrni regularly.
Their distribution area is limited to the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent Atlantic area. They may therefore be found on the Atlantic coast of Portugal or Morocco, perhaps also in Madeira.
Biology & Feeding
Dohrns Tube-Dwelling Anemone is sessile. It feeds on small fish, crustaceans and plankton. Their prey is passed with the long tentacles to the shorter ones and then digested further inside.
From time to time you can see the Arrow Crab searching protection in Pachycerianthus dohrni.
References