underwater photos of jewel anemones Corynactis haddoni
by Dr J Floor Anthoni (2007)
www.seafriends.org.nz/images/jewel.htm
The modest jewel anemone (Corynactis haddoni) may well be one
of the most interesting animal species as it exhibits a high degree of
colour variability. Colour variation in animals is uncommon, as most have
but one costume, even though it may change from its juvenile into its adult
form. Most adult animals exhibit the same colours and patterns within a
single species. For flowers this can be different as some species exist
in various colours, but even here, colour variation in natural flowers
(not hybridised or cultivated) is uncommon for most plant species.
Some fish species display colour variation within a species, and few can
even change colour at will, such as the spectacular goatfish (Upeneichthys
lineatus) and many triplefins in New Zealand.
Like other anemones, the jewel anemone can reproduce asexually by splitting,
which leads to clusters of identically coloured clones, and these patches
join up to amazing quilt works of gaudy colours. The jewel anemone does
not have long thinning tentacles but short ones, ending in knobs. The animals
are also stubby and short and able to live in the wildest of waters. They
are usually found underneath rocky overhangs or on vertical walls where
a diver's torch is needed to reveal their stunning beauty.
f049022: a patchwork quilt of jewel anemones on a rocky pinnacle,
living in the darkness of a foam umbrella (Cavalli Islands, Northland).
f049016: jewel anemones are found in shallow wild water,
on vertical rock walls or underneath overhangs. Taking macro photos in
these conditions is daunting.
f027026: where conditions are favourable, jewel anemones
can reach astounding densitites (Dunedin, South Island).
f035310: a very dense patch in an archway. All these anemones
are clones of a single individual (Kapiti Island, Wellington).
We believe that the magenta jewel anemone could well be a separate
species because:
it occurs only in one colour: a magenta column with white tentacles.
it extends far out by night, which C. haddoni does not do.
it prefers round objects like coral trees and wreck railings.
f049833: variable jewel anemones on the wide beams of the
bow sprit of the Rainbow Warrior wreck.
f021816: magenta jewel anemones covering a deceased black
coral tree.
f021319: magenta jewel anemones wrapped around a railing
of the Rainbow Warrior wreck.
f021315: detail of the magenta anemones on the railing.
f035301: a dense carpet of magenta jewel anemones in an archway.
f035305: by night the magenta jewel anemone can extend its
column many times its daytime height.
