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Dieren en planten

Cnidarians   Sea anemones   Beadlet anemone   Plumose anemone   Mud sagartia   

Mud sagartia

size:

column up to 12 centimeters tall, 5 centimeters in diameter

color:

white, brown to orange and purple. Very diverse

food:

zooplankton

enemies:

Gray sea slug

reproduction:

sexual

  • Dut: Slibanemoon
  • Lat: Sagartia troglodytes
  • Eng: Mud sagartia, cave-dwelling anemone
  • Ger: Schlickanemone, Tangrose
  • Dan: Sagartia troglodytes
print print
Sagartia troglodytes, Foto Fitis, www.fotofitis.nl

Mud sagartia

Mud sagartias have a nondescript colored column, which you rarely see since only the tentacles stick out of the bottom. Unlike the column, the tentacles are very colorful. Although you don't see it, the anemone is often attached to small shells or stones in the sand. During a storm or rapid currents, mud sagartias sometimes break loose from the sea bottom and wash on to the beach as slimy balls. When a mud sagartia is frightened, it retracts quickly into the sea bottom.

  • Distribution and habitat

    Mud sagartias are named after the fact that they live mostly on muddy or sandy sea floors. They need something hard in the bottom to attach themselves to, such as a stone or shell. They are fairly common in the North Sea, Wadden Sea and delta region, living down to 50 meters deep. In the Wadden Sea, they are mostly found on mussel banks.