Metridium canum is a species of sea anemone in the family Metridiidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and the seas off New Zealand.

Metridium canum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Actiniaria
Family: Metridiidae
Genus: Metridium
Species:
M. canum
Binomial name
Metridium canum

Description edit

M. canum has a cylindrical column of about 10mm diameter, that is wider at the base than it is high when contracted. Cinclides (specialist pores) are present on the upper part of the column, and there are four or five whorls of crowded tentacles on the oral disc. Internally, there are forty-five pairs of mesenteries in four cycles radiating from the body wall. This sea anemone is grey, the tentacles sometimes having black tips.[3]

Distribution and habitat edit

The species is native to the Southwest Pacific and the Kermadec Islands. Its typical habitat is sand or mud where it is attached to the undersides of stones.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ Fautin, Daphne (2015). "Metridium canum Stuckey, 1914". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. ^ Stuckey, F. G. A. (1913). "Description of a Collection of Actinians from the Kermadec Islands". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 46 (published 15 June 1914): 134.
  3. ^ a b " Metridium canum Stuckey, 1914". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 1 August 2017.