''Lebrunia neglecta'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea anemone Sea anemones are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates of the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classifi ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Aliciidae Aliciidae is a family of sea anemones, comprising the following genera: * '' Alicia'' Johnson, 1861 * '' Cradactis'' McMurrich, 1893 * '' Lebrunia'' Duchassaing de Fonbressin & Michelotti, 1860 * '' Phyllodiscus'' Kwietniewski, 1897 * ''Triactis ...

. It is found in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

Description

''Lebrunia neglecta'' is an unusual sea anemone in that its

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s are almost hidden by the ring of six much branching large frond-like pseudotentacles that grow up from the rim of the oral disc. These are some shade of pale or darker brown and have densely branched tips. Below these, on the side of the frond are small, whitish spherical vesicles containing

nematocyst A cnidocyte (also known as a cnidoblast or nematocyte) is an explosive cell containing one large secretory organelle called a cnidocyst (also known as a cnida () or nematocyst) that can deliver a sting to other organisms. The presence of this ce ...

s that are powerful enough to sting a human. After contact with a

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

item, the pseudotentacles retract and the tentacles, which are also armed with nematocysts, grasp the prey and draw it into the mouth. The column of the anemone is usually invisible, being anchored in a crevice. This species can grow to a diameter of . It is very similar in appearance to the closely related '' Lebrunia coralligens'', but the pseudotentacles of that species are much less branched, and often have swollen, double-lobed tips.

Distribution

''Lebrunia neglecta'' is found in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

, the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Brazil. It grows in reef environments at a depth of two to sixty metres (six to two hundred feet) with its column hidden in a crevice in the rock or in a massive

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

head.

Ecology

The tissues of ''Lebrunia neglecta'' contain the

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

unicellular alga ''

Symbiodinium : ''This is about the genus sometimes called Zoox. For the company, see Zoox (company)'' ''Symbiodinium'' is a genus of dinoflagellates that encompasses the largest and most prevalent group of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates known. These unicellul ...

''. This is photosynthetic and provides the anemone with energy. The pseudotentacles of ''Lebrunia neglecta'' resemble the fronds of brown seaweeds in the family

Dictyotaceae Dictyotaceae is large family (biology), family of brown algae (class Phaeophyceae). Members of this family generally prefer warmer waters than other brown algae. ''Lobophora variegata'' (= ''Pocockiella varieagata'') often presents a beautiful b ...

in appearance and it is possible that the anemone is mimicking the harmless alga in order to lure potential prey closer. The pseudotentacles are retracted at dusk. A number of different

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s live in close association with ''Lebrunia neglecta''. These include Pederson's cleaning shrimp ('' Ancylomenes pedersoni''), the spotted cleaner shrimp ('' Periclimenes yucatanicus''), the shrimp '' Periclimenes rathbunae'', the shrimp ''

Thor amboinensis ''Thor amboinensis'', commonly known as the squat shrimp or sexy shrimp, is a species of shrimp found across the Indo-West Pacific and in parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It lives symbiotically on corals, sea anemones and other marine invertebrates ...

'', the arrow crab '' Stenorhynchus seticornis'', the anemone crab '' Mithraculus cinctimanus'' and a

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomo ...

. These animals enjoy the protection provided by the anemone's nematocysts and are found either among the pseudotentacles or in their own characteristic stations close to the anemone.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q61654837, from2=Q593184 Aliciidae Animals described in 1860 Cnidarians of the Atlantic Ocean Cnidarians of the Caribbean Sea