Information Report
If you walk along a rocky beach at low tide, you may not notice the sea anemones. When they are dry, anemones look like rock. When they are underwater, they open up and look like flowering plants. They have thick stalk and "petals." But anemones are not rock or plants. They are animals.
The anemone's petals are really poisoned-tipped tentacles. When a small fish swims too close to the anemone, its tentacles close around the fish and full it inside. Then, the anemone digests its meal.
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| Anemones |
People used to think that all sea anemones did was sit and wait for food to come by. But it seems that anemones are more complicated than that. An anemone sprouts buds that become new anemones. Eventually, the anemones form groups. If two groups begin to crowd each other, an anemone war can develop.
An anemone from one group can use its poison tentacles to slap an anemone from the other group. The other anemone can slap back. When the fighting gets serious, the loser may "run away." It slithers out of its enemy's reach.
It's not known yet whether anemones have other way of getting and keeping territory, but scientists are considering further research.
Source: Timed Reading Plus, Edward Spargo
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| Dry anemone |
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