''Stichodactyla'' is a genus of

sea anemones Sea anemones are a group of predatory marine invertebrates of the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, ...

, of the family

Stichodactylidae Stichodactylidae is a family of sea anemones that contains the genera ''Stichodactyla'' (carpet anemones) and ''Heteractis''. These sea anemones exclusively reside within the shallow waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific area and are in the main f ...

. They are host anemones, which maintain a relationship mutualistic with other animals, in their case with crabs of the genus '' Mithraculus'', shrimp of the genus '' Periclimenes '', and with various species of

clownfish Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Thirty species of clownfish are recognized: one in the genus ''Premnas'', while the remaining are in the genus ''Amphiprion''. In the wild, th ...

, of the genus ''

Amphiprion ''Amphiprion'' is a genus of ray-finned fish which comprises all but one of the species of clownfish or anemonefish in the subfamily Amphiprioninae of the family Pomacentridae. Species The following species are classified in the genus ''Amphipri ...

'', establishing a relationship of coexistence. In this way, crabs and fish protect themselves from their predators between the stinging tentacles of the anemone, and the anemone benefits from the cleaning of its oral disc and tentacles as a result of the continuous movements of the animals.

Species

The

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

accepts the following species:Fautin, D. (2015). Stichodactyla. In: Fautin, Daphne G. 2011. Hexacorallians of the World. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=267869. Consultado el 17-08-2015. * ''

Stichodactyla gigantea ''Stichodactyla gigantea'', commonly known as the giant carpet anemone, is a species of sea anemone that lives in the Indo-Pacific area. It can be kept in an aquarium but is a very challenging species to keep alive and healthy for more than 3– ...

.'' (Forskål, 1775) * ''

Stichodactyla haddoni ''Stichodactyla haddoni'', commonly known as Haddon's sea anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the family Stichodactylidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific area. Description ''S. haddoni'' is characterized by a folded oral disc t ...

.'' (Saville-Kent, 1893) * ''

Stichodactyla helianthus ''Stichodactyla helianthus'', commonly known as sun anemone, is a sea anemone of the family Stichodactylidae. ''Helianthus'' stems from the Greek words ἡλιος (meaning sun), and ἀνθος, meaning flower. ''S. helianthus'' is a large, gr ...

.'' (Ellis, 1768) * ''

Stichodactyla mertensii ''Stichodactyla mertensii'', commonly known as Mertens' carpet sea anemone, is a species of sea anemones in the family Stichodactylidae. It is regarded as the largest sea anemone with a diameter of over , the next largest being ''Heteractis mag ...

''. Brandt, 1835 * '' Stichodactyla tapetum''. (Hemprich & Ehrenberg in Ehrenberg, 1834)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1291718 Stichodactylidae