sea anemone

Invertebrate marine animal of the phylum Cnidaria with a tubelike body attached by the base to a rock or shell. The other end has an open ‘mouth’ surrounded by stinging tentacles, which capture crustaceans and other small organisms. Many sea anemones are beautifully coloured, especially those in tropical waters.

A deep-sea anemone Gerardia was estimated to be 1,500–2,000 years old by US marine zoologists 1996. Gerardia lives at depths of around 620 m/2,030 ft and is a colonial animal, made up of number of tiny polyps.