The same living in water is also a "living fossil", and mayflies "wobbly" for 350 million years, growing up to live for only five minutes, and spending their lives only to get married, fly, reproduce, and then end their lives. The longest life expectancy can be up to 2,100 years (the sandstone anemone growing in Bermuda is known as one of the world's longest-lived anemone species, with a very long lifespan, with some individuals even reaching 1,500 to 2,100 years old).
The sea anemone is an ancient animal that belongs to the cnidarians, an order of the subclass Hexapetal, which dates back to the Cambrian period 540 million years ago and witnessed the early evolution of life. The scientific community generally believes that the sea anemone is one of the earliest branches of the animal kingdom, and as an aquatic creature, the body structure of the sea anemone is relatively simple, and there are no too high-level and complex organs and systems. Rather, it is exchanged for food, water and waste through a series of pipes, a simple body structure that allows them to survive and evolve in their original ecological environment. Evolutionary biologists believe that anemone genes contain elements similar to those of fruit flies and other animals, dating back to the common ancestor species of flies, sea anemones, and humans. Sea anemones also have a strong ability to repair and regenerate themselves.
There are more than 1,100 species of sea anemones, making it a large family.
They are widely distributed in the oceans and oceans, some live in brackish water, and most inhabit shallow seas and rocks
A few of the puddles or crevices on the shore live in the abysses of the ocean, with a maximum depth of 10,210 meters. This also shows that sea anemones are highly adaptable, adapting to a wide range of marine environments, from intertidal to abyssal seabeds, from tropical waters to polar seas. In addition to their superior adaptability, sea anemones produce defensive and predatory stinging cells, which are rich in neurotoxins, cytotoxic hormones and a variety of living molecules. It is worth mentioning that the toxicity of sea anemones is very high, and sea anemone toxins are considered to be very powerful, and 1 gram of poison after purification can poison 300,000 mice and 80 people, making it one of the most toxic marine toxins found by humans.
Sea anemones are not only diverse, but also peculiar in appearance and colorful (there are red, white, purple, blue, etc.). These colors come from the pigments in their own tissues, and from the symbiotic algae that live in symbiosis with them. ), and most do not move, some occasionally crawl or move in a slow somersault. Sea anemones look very plant-like, with a cylindrical body, with a basal disk at one end, attached to rocks or other objects on the seabed, and a mouth disc at the other end, surrounded by several circles of tentacles, which can release highly toxic and belong to one of the carnivores (sea anemones have a very mixed diet, and their food includes mollusks, crustaceans and other invertebrates, and even fish, etc.). After being paralyzed by the thorn filaments of sea anemones, these animals are captured by tentacles and sent to their mouths for digestion and absorption. Common varieties are fist anemone, giant green anemone, feather anemone, and night anemone. Sea anemones get their name because they resemble sunflowers.
Among the many varieties of sea anemones, there are ten that are considered to be the most beautiful, including princess anemones, North American strawberry anemones, American anemones, cherry blossom anemones, purple-spotted anemones, cherry bud cone anemones, chrysanthemum anemones, colorful carpet anemones, fist anemones, Hawaiian anemones, which do you think is the most beautiful?
There are two main ways of reproduction in sea anemones:
Sexual reproduction. Most sea anemones reproduce in this way, including both hermaphroditic and dioecious types. In this process, male anemones release sperm, while female anemones
The egg is released, and the sperm and egg are combined in seawater for fertilization. After fertilization, the eggs develop into floating larvae, which in turn develop into new anemones.
Asexual reproduction. Sea anemones can also be reproduced asexually
Reproduction, which involves the direct splitting of the broodstock into two individuals. Some anemone species sprout on the basal plate and then gradually develop into new anemones.
It is not difficult to find that clownfish can be found almost everywhere there are anemones, and the highly poisonous anemone clownfish is not afraid?
In fact, clownfish and sea anemones have a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship, and clownfish have special mucus on their body surface, which can protect them from anemone toxins. Additionally, clownfish have relatively thick and tough skin, which is able to resist the stingers of sea anemones piercing the skin. Physiological mechanisms or enzyme systems in clownfish may also be able to decipher, neutralize, or eliminate toxins from anemone venom, thereby reducing sensitivity to stingers. Thus, the clownfish can not only be protected from enemies under the protection of the anemones, but also eat the leftover food of the anemones, while the anemones attract other fish to come closer through the free entry and exit of the clownfish, increase their chances of predation, and help rid them of necrotic tissue and parasites.
In fact, not all anemones can become "good friends" with clownfish, and only about 10 species of anemones are willing to provide shelter for clownfish. In addition to the well-known clownfish, in fact, sea anemones and hermit crabs are also good friends (symbiotic hermit crabs are generally a female and a male).
There are many people who think that sea anemones are very similar to corals, and some people even recognize sea anemones as corals, which is actually understandable, because sea anemones and corals are close relatives.
What are living fossil animals: There are many marine animals that have become extinct and become "fossils" due to changes in the earth's environment or through changes in the sea and land, and there is also a class of marine animals that appeared in the ancient oceans, and then disappeared, and have not been found for a long time, and people mistakenly think that they have been extinct on the earth, but they have been discovered again, and people call these animals "living fossil" animals. There is another group of animals, they are very adaptable to the environment, they have existed in the ancient oceans, but they have not changed much to this day, and they are still the same, so people also call this group of animals "living fossil" animals.
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