Peachia Quinquecapitata
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''Peachia quinquecapitata'', also known as the twelve-tentacled parasitic anemone, is a species of
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
Haloclavidae Haloclavidae is a family of sea anemones. Members of the family are found worldwide and many live largely buried in soft substrates with only their oral disc and tentacles protruding. Characteristics Members of this family mostly have elongated ...
. It is found in the Pacific Northwest. The larva is parasitic on certain species of Anthomedusae.


Description

''Peachia quinquecapitata'' lives with its elongated column buried in the sand and its twelve tentacles fanned out on the surface. The oral disc is red and the translucent tentacles are banded with buff and brown in a chevron pattern. Like other members of the genus ''
Peachia ''Peachia'' is a genus of sea anemone in the family Haloclavidae. Members of this genus typically burrow into soft substrates. The only part of the animal that is normally visible is the oral disc and tentacles which lie flat on the sand in a sta ...
'', it has a "conchula", an enlargement on the lip by its mouth, which in this species is divided into five lobes.


Distribution

''Peachia quinquecapitata'' is found in shallow seas in the Pacific Northwest of the United States including Puget Sound.


Life cycle

The life cycle of ''Peachia quinquecapitata'' was investigated in the laboratory. Spawning was induced by manipulating light levels. The eggs had a diameter of 120 µm and, after fertilisation, developed into planula larvae. Some of the larvae were ingested by the medusa, ''Phialidium gregarium'' (now classified as ''
Clytia gregaria ''Clytia gregaria'', sometimes referred to as the gregarious jellyfish, is a small species of hydrozoan in the family Campanulariidae. It is one of the most abundant hydrzoans of the Pacific Northwest, particularly during late spring and summer ...
''), and only they continued to develop in the laboratory setting. At first they fed on food particles in the gastrovascular cavity of the jellyfish but after 11 days they developed parasitic habits and began to feed on their hosts'
gonad A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, produces sper ...
s, moving on later to other tissues. One anemone larva was able to consume a gonad completely in two days. Thirty-one days after becoming parasitic they had developed into juvenile sea anemones with an adult body plan. At this stage they detached themselves from their hosts and dropped to the sea floor where they started to live independently. This parasitism is likely to be harmful to the host but of advantage to the anemone in that its larvae can develop safely in a protective environment and passively disperse to new localities.Parasitic Anemones on Cross Jelly
The Jellies Zone. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
The prevalence of infection in the jellyfish ''Clytia gregaria'' at Friday Harbor, Washington peaks in the spring at 62%.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1933322 Haloclavidae Animals described in 1913