Common names for H. aurora include beaded sea anemone,[1]aurora host anemone, sand anemone, carpet anemone, flat anemone, corn anemone, Ritteri anemone, saddle tip anemone, adhesive sea anemone, and the white beaded anemone.
Descriptionedit
Both the tentacles and oral disc of H. aurora are brown or purplish. The tentacles reach 50 mm in length, may be sticky when touched, and can have tips of a magenta colouration. The longer tentacles contain swellings. These appear on only on a single side, or almost entirely surrounding the tentacle, giving the appearance of beads on a string. A maximum of 20 such swellings may occur on any single tentacle.[1]
This species has a broad, flattened oral disc reaching 250 mm wide, and may have white or brown markings that radiate from the centre, and even continue up and along the tentacles.[1]
Distribution and habitatedit
H. aurora occurs in Micronesia as well as in Melanesia to East Africa. It is also present in the Red Sea, and in Australia to the Ryukyu Islands.[1] This species lives among coral, and along rocky reef edges and on slopes, normally in areas with strong currents. They attach themselves to a surface, and remain partially buried in sediment or sand,[1] When threatened, they may retract entirely out of view into the substrate.
Ecologyedit
H. aurora hosts 7 species of anemonefish as symbionts: [1]
The relationship between anemonefish and their host sea anemones is highly nested in structure. With 7 species of hosted anemonefish, H. aurora is a generalist anemone,[2] however it is considered a nursery anemone as, for reasons unknown, sexually mature fish are rarely hosted by H. aurora.[1]
A number of other species are associated with H. aurora, however the relationship is commensal rather than mutual as the anemone does not appear to benefit from the association. These species are
^Ollerton J; McCollin D; Fautin DG; Allen GR. (2007). "Finding NEMO: nestedness engendered by mutualistic organization in anemonefish and their hosts". Proc R Soc B Biol Sci. 274 (1609): 591–598. doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3758. PMC1766375. PMID 17476781.
External linksedit
Photos of Heteractis aurora on Sealife Collection
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heteractis aurora.
Wikispecies has information related to Heteractis aurora.
January 01, 1970
heteractis, aurora, anemone, family, phymanthidae, phymanthus, crucifer, species, anemone, family, stichodactylidae, scientific, classification, domain, eukaryota, kingdom, animalia, phylum, cnidaria, class, hexacorallia, order, actiniaria, family, stichodacty. For the anemone in the family Phymanthidae see Phymanthus crucifer Heteractis aurora is a species of sea anemone in the family Stichodactylidae Heteractis aurora Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Cnidaria Class Hexacorallia Order Actiniaria Family Stichodactylidae Genus Heteractis Species H aurora Binomial name Heteractis aurora Quoy amp Gaimard 1833 Synonyms ListActinia aurora Quoy amp Gaimard 1833 Antheopsis koseirensis Klunzinger 1877 Bartholomea sp Uchida 1975 Bunodes koseirensis Klunzinger 1877 Ixalactis simplex Haddon 1898 Radianthus koseirensis Mariscal 1970 1972 Radianthus koseiriensis Klunzinger 1877 Radianthus simplex Haddon amp Shackleton Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Distribution and habitat 4 Ecology 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External linksTaxonomy editCommon names for H aurora include beaded sea anemone 1 aurora host anemone sand anemone carpet anemone flat anemone corn anemone Ritteri anemone saddle tip anemone adhesive sea anemone and the white beaded anemone Description editBoth the tentacles and oral disc of H aurora are brown or purplish The tentacles reach 50 mm in length may be sticky when touched and can have tips of a magenta colouration The longer tentacles contain swellings These appear on only on a single side or almost entirely surrounding the tentacle giving the appearance of beads on a string A maximum of 20 such swellings may occur on any single tentacle 1 This species has a broad flattened oral disc reaching 250 mm wide and may have white or brown markings that radiate from the centre and even continue up and along the tentacles 1 Distribution and habitat editH aurora occurs in Micronesia as well as in Melanesia to East Africa It is also present in the Red Sea and in Australia to the Ryukyu Islands 1 This species lives among coral and along rocky reef edges and on slopes normally in areas with strong currents They attach themselves to a surface and remain partially buried in sediment or sand 1 When threatened they may retract entirely out of view into the substrate Ecology editH aurora hosts 7 species of anemonefish as symbionts 1 Amphiprion akindynos Barrier reef anemonefish A allardi Allard s anemonefish A bicinctus Two band anemonefish A clarkii Clark s anemonefish A chrysogaster Mauritian anemonefish A chrysopterus Orange fin anemonefish A tricinctus Three band anemonefish The relationship between anemonefish and their host sea anemones is highly nested in structure With 7 species of hosted anemonefish H aurora is a generalist anemone 2 however it is considered a nursery anemone as for reasons unknown sexually mature fish are rarely hosted by H aurora 1 A number of other species are associated with H aurora however the relationship is commensal rather than mutual as the anemone does not appear to benefit from the association These species are porcelain crabs Shrimp from the Periclimenes genus Threespot dascyllusGallery edit nbsp H aurora with shrimp amp anemonefish nbsp Amphiprion clarkii Clark s anemonefish with H aurora Timor nbsp H aurora Panglao Island nbsp Crab amp anemonefish with H aurora nbsp Amphiprion clarkii Clark s anemonefish in H auroraReferences edit a b c d e f g Fautin Daphne G Allen Gerald R 1997 Field Guide to Anemone Fishes and Their Host Sea Anemones Western Australian Museum ISBN 9780730983651 Archived from the original on 14 April 2015 Ollerton J McCollin D Fautin DG Allen GR 2007 Finding NEMO nestedness engendered by mutualistic organization in anemonefish and their hosts Proc R Soc B Biol Sci 274 1609 591 598 doi 10 1098 rspb 2006 3758 PMC 1766375 PMID 17476781 External links editPhotos of Heteractis aurora on Sealife Collection nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heteractis aurora nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Heteractis aurora Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Heteractis aurora amp oldid 1121907936, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
