Macrodactyla aspera is a species of sea anemone belonging to the family Actiniidae. It is commonly known as the “Rough Anemone” or “Spiny Anemone” due to its distinctive texture.
Description & Characteristics
Macrodactyla aspera is a relatively large sea anemone, reaching up to several centimeters in diameter. Its body is typically cylindrical, with a thick, muscular column and a large, fleshy oral disc. The most defining feature of this species is its rough, bumpy surface, covered in numerous small, spiny projections. These projections are actually acrorhagi, stinging cells that help the anemone defend itself and capture prey. The oral disc is surrounded by numerous tentacles, arranged in rows, which are also covered in acrorhagi. These tentacles are used to capture and paralyze prey.
Habitat and Occurrence
Macrodactyla aspera is a common inhabitant of the subtidal, sublittoral, and infralittoral zones of the ocean. It prefers rocky substrates and is often found attached to rocks, shells, and other hard surfaces. It is also known to occur in deeper water, down to the shelf edge at about 200 m water depth. This species is widely distributed in the neritic zone, which is the part of the ocean that extends from the shoreline to the edge of the continental shelf.
Taxonomy
Macrodactyla aspera belongs to the class Hexacorallia, which includes all the true sea anemones, corals, and sea pens. Within this class, it is further classified under the order Actiniaria, specifically in the family Actiniidae. This family contains a diverse array of sea anemones, many of which share similar characteristics like the presence of acrorhagi.
Feeding
Macrodactyla aspera is a carnivorous sea anemone. Its diet consists of a variety of small invertebrates, including amphipods, copepods, Daphnia salina, fish larvae, isopods, mysis, ostracodes (seed shrimps), and zooxanthellae. It captures prey using its stinging tentacles, paralyzing it with the acrorhagi and then transporting it to its mouth. In addition to consuming live prey, Macrodactyla aspera also derives nutrition from symbiotic zooxanthellae, microscopic algae that live within its tissues and provide it with energy through photosynthesis.
Image References