Metridium senile

The plumose anemone is a rather tall sea anemone, with many thin tentacles on the top of the column. The column has an erected edge at the top. This makes the anemone look like a turtleneck collar topped off with a wig. Plumose anemones live in groups, up to 500 specimen per square meter. The entire group displays the same color, which isn't so strange if you realize that sea anemones can clone themselves. So the group is often one big family.

 Metridium senile is an anemone of very variable form. The base is wider than the column and often irregular. When expanded, the numerous tentacles form a 'plume' above a conspicuous parapet at the top of the smooth column. Large individuals may be 30 cm high. The colour is plain, commonly white orange or dark green but brown, grey or occasionally red or yellow varieties occur.Manuel (1988) describes two distinctive varieties. Var. dianthus is large with a tall column when expanded. The disc is deeply waved or folded. The many tentacles give a 'fluffy' appearance. Individuals may be 30 cm in height, with a basal diamer and tentacle span of 15 cm or more. Var. pallidus is a small form not exceeding 2.5 cm across the base with a flat disc without folds. Bucklin (1985) investigated biochemical genetic variation and concluded the presence of two morphs of Metridium senile but that they were variants resulting from different environmental conditions and were not taxonomically distinct and therefore not 'varieties' as described in many texts.

This sea anemone has a wide and firmly adherent base. The column is smooth, divided into scapus and capitulum, with a prominent parapet and fosse. The tentacles are slender, short or moderate and very numerous in large or medium sized specimens. Acontia are present but not readily emitted. Colour is usually white or orange, occasionally buff, yellow or reddish, sometimes bi-coloured. Tentacles usually with a white band near the base. Size up to 120mm across base and 300mm tall but many small forms (dwarf races) occur which rarely exceed 30-40mm across the base. The familiar large 'plumose' form is easily recognised and well known. Smaller varieties may cause difficulty but providing the key characters are considered, no real problem in identification should arise. Reproduces by basal lacerations. Small specimens are frequently mis-identified as Sagartia spp. but this genus lacks a parapet and bears suckers on the column. Diadumene cincta and Haliplanella lineata possess a parapet and lack suckers but are easily distinguished by other features (see relevant descriptions).

circumarctic boreal to New Jersey

Common on all British coasts and northwest Atlantic generally, occasional in the Mediterranean.

coastal to shelf

Known from seamounts and knolls

sandy, muddy, or rocky habitats; also may attached themselves to hard parts or products of other organisms (shells)

Depth range based on 1 specimen in 2 taxa.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 1 - 1
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

Depth range based on 1 specimen in 1 taxon.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 1.5 - 1.5
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

Depth range based on 1 specimen in 2 taxa.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 1 sample.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 25 - 25
  Temperature range (°C): 9.388 - 9.388
  Nitrate (umol/L): 2.957 - 2.957
  Salinity (PPS): 34.626 - 34.626
  Oxygen (ml/l): 6.282 - 6.282
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.413 - 0.413
  Silicate (umol/l): 2.606 - 2.606
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

Depth range based on 449 specimens in 5 taxa.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 179 samples.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): -3 - 2100
  Temperature range (°C): 1.907 - 17.205
  Nitrate (umol/L): 1.034 - 42.974
  Salinity (PPS): 31.538 - 35.343
  Oxygen (ml/l): 1.401 - 6.849
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.314 - 3.099
  Silicate (umol/l): 0.987 - 176.085

Graphical representation

Depth range (m): -3 - 2100

Temperature range (°C): 1.907 - 17.205

Nitrate (umol/L): 1.034 - 42.974

Salinity (PPS): 31.538 - 35.343

Oxygen (ml/l): 1.401 - 6.849

Phosphate (umol/l): 0.314 - 3.099

Silicate (umol/l): 0.987 - 176.085
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

 Attached to any suitable hard substratum in overhangs, caves and beneath boulders on the lower shore, and on pier piles and rock faces to at least 100 m.

Found attached to rocks, etc., from the middle shore to about 100m depth. Typically in places where there is strong water movement; often on projecting substrates such as piers, sewage pipes, wrecks, etc. Large specimens rarely occur on shore but may be abundant in the sublittoral. Small forms are frequent in brackish-water situations.

Generally, anthozoans are primarly carnivorous which prey on sea urchins, gastropods, bivalves, or crustaceans that crawl or swim into their grasp.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 13
Species With Barcodes: 1

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

There are 3 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.

Download FASTA File