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What is it like?
It is a commensal anemone (lives at the expense of another individual but neither benefits nor harms it). In this case the organism is a hermit crab. It can measure up to 4 centimeters. It is formed by a pedunculate disc of up to 10cm that serves to fix itself and an oral disc (where we find the mouth) of up to 4cm. It has a smooth body wall. It is generally flattened, yellowish-brown with spots ranging from pink to purplish-red and the crown of tentacles is lighter in color. These organisms also have a kind of short, pale tentacles that are directed towards the inside of its body, known as acontia (stinging filaments with defensive function) which are violet-pink, more rarely white.
How does it feed?
Adamsia palliata has the crown of tentacles close to the crab's mouth so it feeds on the crab's own food. It is carnivorous in nature.
Where does it live?
It lives exclusively on sandy and detrital soils, such as muddy sands and coral bottoms of shallow and calm waters. It is solitary and, as mentioned above, lives in close symbiosis on gastropod shells such as Gibbula magus and Naticarius stercusmuscarum occupied by Pagurus alatus or Pagurus prideauxi, less frequently on Maja and Carcinus. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea, also in the Red Sea. It lives in depths ranging from 3 to 200 meters.
How does it reproduce?
It is oviparous and has separate sexes.
Is a confusion possible?
It cannot be confused.
Curiosities
· The crab actively feeds the actin and when it moves to a larger shell it actively helps the anemone to detach itself from the old shell and attach itself to the new one, waiting until it has fully attached.
· It secretes a substance (chitinous in nature) that allows it to adapt to the growing crab shell.
Taxonomy
Phylum: Cnidarians, Class: Anthozoa, Order: Actiniaria, Family: Hormathiidae, Genus: Adamsia |
