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| sea anemones text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Order Actiniaria |
| Haddon's
carpet anemone Stichodactyla haddoni Family Stichodactylidae updated Mar 09
Where seen? This enormous anemone bigger than your face is commonly seen on many of shores. In sandy areas, among seagrasses and also on coral rubble. Features: Usually 50cm, but is said to reach up to 75-80cm in diameter. The large oral disk is densely covered with short tentacles so that it resembles a short-pile carpet. Tentacles short, stubby and may have bulbous tips. The outer edge of the oral disk is fringed with tentacles that are twice as long (exocoelic tentacles), alternating with short ones (endocoelic tentacles). The verrucae are non-adhesive, small and not visible as they are usually the same colour as the body colum. The long body column is usually buried and ends in a pedal disk that anchors the animal. These animals come in various colours from deep purple, a fresh green to muted pastel blue, green and grey. Sometimes mistaken for other carpet anemones and other large anemones. Here's more on how to tell apart the large short-tentacled anemones and large long-tentacled anemones. Carpet food: Carpet anemones harbour symbiotic single-celled algae (called zooxanthallae). The algae undergo photosynthesis to produce food from sunlight. The food produced is shared with the sea anemone, which in return provides the algae with shelter and minerals. The zooxanthallae are believed to give the tentacles their brown or greenish tinge. Carpet anemones may also feed on fine particles that are trapped on their bodies. The anemones have also been seen swallowing various animals. The sticky tentacles grab any that blunder or are washed into them. The oral disk can contract quickly to hold on to the luckless prey, which is eventually transfered into the central mouth. Some large creatures that are swallowed up by carpet anemones include fishes and crabs. More photos of what our carpet anemones have been seen swallowing. Haddoni friends: Besides the symbiotic algae that lives inside the their tentacles several kinds of animals have been recorded elsewhere as being associated with Haddon's carpet anemones. These include anemone shrimps (Periclimenes sp.), and fishes such as Dascyllus trimaculatus and anemonefishes (Amphiprion sp.) including A. akindynos, A. clarkii, A. fuscocaudatus, A. polymnus, A. sebae, A. xanthurus. But so far, the only animals seen living on our Haddon's carpet anemones are the tiny carpet anemoneshrimp (Periclimenes sp.), Five-spot anemone shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis). Other animals have been observed taking shelter under these anemones, such as crabs and snapping shrimps. Ball sea cucumbers are often found buried near carpet anemones. Also seen were Kite butterflyfish (Parachaetodon ocellatus) and Chequered cardinalfish (Apogon margaritophorus) swimming near, but not touching, carpet anemones. Sometimes small groups of small Kite butterflyfishes are seen near carpet anemones. Stinging carpet! Like other sea anemones, the carpet anemone has stingers in its tentacles. Generally, these stings do not hurt human beings, but they can leave welts on sensitive skin. Should I ‘save’ animals trapped in a carpet anemone? If you do, you will be depriving the anemone of a meal. It might not get so lucky again for a while. The animal that you 'saved' might also not survive if it was badly stung by the carpet anemone. Should I feed the anemones? Please don’t. Carpet anemones know how to feed themselves. You might hurt the anemone if you put the wrong thing on it. If you put another living animal on an anemone you will be hurting two animals. Please don't put objects such as litter or dead crabs on a carpet anemone either. Carpet of Death: On Chek Jawa, you might notice that there are many carpet anemones on the hot, dry sand bar at low tide. Why are they there when they could be in the cool pools instead? On Chek Jawa, the sand bar is the first to emerge at low tide and the last to submerge as the tide comes in. As fishes and other animals enter the lagoon with the incoming tide, or leave with the outgoing tide, they have to negotiate this minefield of anemones. Some unlucky creatures might blunder into a Carpet anemone. Carpet anemones on the sand bar may thus have a better chance of a meal. High and dry: Carpet anemones can survive for a short while out of water. To conserve water, the oral disk shrinks to reduce the surface area and mucus is secreted to cover the mouth and delicate body parts. Sediment gets stuck to this mucus, probably providing some shade from the sun. Smaller anemones may also tuck the oral disk into the body column at low tide. When the tide comes back, the oral disk furls to the full size. Can carpet anemones move? Carpet anemones probably usually stay in one spot. However, they can uproot themselves and move to a new place. This is probably how they avoid being buried as the sand bar shifts. If you find an 'uprooted' carpet anemone, you may place it in a pool of water. There is no need to 're-plant' it. Colourful Carpets: Carpet anemones come in a wide range of colours. Carpet anemones of the same species may have very different colours, some may even appear striped. Carpet babies: There is not much information on how Carpet anemones reproduce. Small carpet anemones seen on our shores may actually be another species, the Mini carpet anemone (Stichodactyla tapetum) and not a young version of the Haddon's carpet anemone. Human uses: Unfortunately, these anemones are harvested for the live aquarium trade. Status and threats: Carpet anemones are not listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. However, like other animals harvested for the live aquarium trade, most die before they can reach the retailers. Without professional care, most die soon after they are sold. Those that do survive are unlikely to breed successfully. Like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Trampling by careless visitors, and over-collection also have an impact on local populations. |
 Chek Jawa, Mar 03  Capturing small fishes by folding the oral disk over the prey. Chek Jawa, Feb 02  Spitting out indigestible bits. Chek Jawa, Jul 02  Some carpet anemones out on the hot dry sand bar at low tide. Chek Jawa, Feb 02  Underside of uprooted carpet anemone Chek Jawa, Jan 04  They can survive out of water for a short time by shrinking their oral disk. Chek Jawa, Feb 02  They can also tuck the oral disk into the body column. Chek Jawa, May 03 |
Small carpet anemones may be hidden under seaweed. Don't
step on them!Haddon's carpet anemones on Singapore shores
 Chek Jawa, Jun 05 |
 Verrucae invisible. |
 Distinctive alternating 'long' and 'short' tentacles at the circumference. |
 Cyrene, Mar 07  |
 Pulau Sekudu, Feb 07  |
 Chek Jawa, Jun 05  |
more photos of haddon's carpet anemones on Singapore shores
northern shores part 1 | part 2
southern shores part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4
Links
References
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IKAN-Unterwasserachiv, Frankfurt. 305 pp.|
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