The Earth has a whole plethora of interesting animals and my animal, A Gorgonian Wrapper, is certainly one of those animals.  It is pretty cool because it can provide a good home for a clown fish and other small reef fish.  Another thing is that it lives in a deep reef so it is often dark and its white tentacles glow up and provide a source of light.

 

My animal is commonly known as a Gorgonian Wrapper. It is a sea anemone that lives in deep reefs in the Western Pacific region. It has a dark brown/black column and white tentacles. Since it is, after all, a cnidarian its tentacles sting to keep away the small predators that will try to attack.  It usually has around 4-5 cm tall polyps or baby anemones. This anemone eats like a sponge so it pumps water through it and extracts food particles from it.

 

A Gorgonian Wrapper is usually found in the western Pacific region in deep reefs.  Its population is unknown and a full grown Gorgonian wrapper can usually be 6-8 cm tall.  These sea anemones live in communities and form almost a carpet. They provide many things for the other animals on the reef. They make houses for clownfish and give protection with its stinging tentacles. They can form the carpet because of how close together they live.  The Gorgonian Wrapper is not endangered so it is not protected by the law and their population is growing.

 

The sea anemone eats, as previously stated, like a sponge and its diet consists mostly of krill and other things that are in the water. It is very low in the food chain and is not predatory. So it does not hunt for food and is anchored in one spot. They do not compete for food except for the other anemones in their community.  They are constantly pumping water through themselves and thus always eating.  This anemone does not have any known predators due to its stinging tentacles. Some of my favorite things about this animal are its glowing tentacles which are pretty but will sting the bejesus out of you.

 

As you can see this animal is very interesting and can do several amazing things like glow in the dark.
 

Author: Johnathan M.

Date: 2/19/13

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Sources:

2/7/13 http://www.seadb.net/en_Gorgonian-wrapper-Nemanthus-annamensis_343.htm/13 Page author: Massimo Boyer Website: www.seadb.net/ http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Nemanthus_annamensis/classification/ day read: 2/12/13 Author: T.A. Dewey Website: www.animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/

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