Mimetridium is a genus of sea anemones of the family Acontiophoridae. It currently includes only one species Mimetridium cryptum.

Mimetridium
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Actiniaria
Family: Acontiophoridae
Genus: Mimetridium
Hand, 1961
Species:
M. cryptum
Binomial name
Mimetridium cryptum
Hand, 1961[1]

Taxonomy

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Both the genus and the species were first described by Cadet Hand, the former director of the Bodega Marine Laboratory, in 1961.[1] The holotype specimen is held at the Otago Museum.[2]

Description

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Dr Elizabeth J. Batham described this species as:

a slender, elongated species with many fine tentacles. Apart from its longer column, it superficially resembles the northern hemisphere Metridium senile, to which it was earlier regarded as being closely related.[3]

Distribution

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This species was described from New Zealand and has been recorded off the coasts of Dunedin and Wellington.[3][4]

Habitat

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M. cryptum is normally attached to a shell or rock in mud or sand and prefers to be half buried.[3] However, this species is known to both burrow into the sand as well as walk.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hand, C. (1961). "Two new acontiate New Zealand sea anemones". Transactions of the Royal Society New Zealand. Zoology. 1: 75–89.
  2. ^ "Mimetridium cryptum Hand, 1961". www.marinespecies.org. 2014. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  3. ^ a b c d E. J. BATHAM (1 August 1965). "THE NEURAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE SEA ANEMONE MIMETRIDIUM CRYPTUM" (PDF). American Zoologist. 5: 395–402. doi:10.1093/ICB/5.3.395. ISSN 0003-1569. PMID 14345244. Wikidata Q78553350.
  4. ^ "Mimetridium Hand, 1961". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
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