Moonglow Anemone (Anthopleura artemisia)

Description: Moonglow anemones look a little different than their other commonly found relatives like the giant green or aggregating anemones; their columns - the cylinder base of the anemones - are buried under sand and their thin tentacles are striped with white bands or rings. These anemones come in many different colors, typically green or brown but sometimes a vibrant pink or orange. They can get up to 7 cm across.

Habitat: Similar to the giant green anemone, moonglow anemones prefer to live in solitude where they aren’t crowded by other anemones. Along the Pacific Coast of the United States, they can be found from Alaska down to southern California in the intertidal zone.

Diet: Moonglow anemones eat small crustaceans and invertebrates that they grab with their tentacles. 

Tide Pool Tidbits:

• Sexual reproduction is the only option for moonglow anemones. They do this through broadcast spawning - males and females release gametes into the water for external fertilization.

• Along the coast, clams leave behind holes they used to live in and moonglow anemones sometimes like to take over and live within those holes.

• Moonglow anemones - which are also sometimes called buried anemones - can sometimes be buried in sand as deep as 25 cm.

Reference: Sea Life Base