The Jewel Anemone (Corynactis viridis) is a marine (saltwater) anthozoan cnidarian in the Corallimorphidae family of sea anemones. It is an animal, not a plant. 

The Jewel Anemone is cylindrical, slightly wider at the base, with an oral (mouth) disc and polyps. The individual polyps are clustered in aggregations. It is not attached to the soil or rock – the individuals can detach and drift away. Its tentacles are short, althought the outer tentacles are longer than the inner tentacles. Its colour is variable, but it is mainly white, pink, orange, red, and green.

The diameter of the base cylinder is one centimetre (less than half an inch).

It is found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It prefers rocky beds in tropical reefs, particularly vertical rock faces and cave overhangs.

The Jewel Anemone reproduces sexually and also by longitudinal fission whereby two sides of the anemone draw apart, tearing the coral in half. The torn away pieces become new individuals.

Location of photographs: Aquarium de Paris-Cinéaqua, France

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM