Plumose Anemones
Metridium senile

1/60 s @ f16, ASA 64, Ektachrome 64, Nikonos II w 28 mm lens and close up lens attachment, Oceanic 2000 flash, Ikelite slave flash

"Metridium senile," Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Metridium senile, common name the plumose anemone or frilled anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Metridiidae. It is found in the seas off northwest Europe and the east and west coasts of North America.The base of Metridium senile is considerably wider than the column and is attached to rock or another substrate. The column is long, smooth and cylindrical, of a fleshy consistency with a slimy surface lubricated with mucus. There are no warts or suckers and the column is topped by a parapet and deep groove. The oral disc is broad and deeply lobed into several curving sections that overhang the column. The slender, pointed tentacles are very numerous in larger specimens though fewer and relatively longer in smaller ones. Those near the margin are crowded and short whereas further into the disc they are longer and more dispersed. The colour range of this sea anemone is large but for any one specimen the colour is uniform throughout, except for the orange-red lip surrounding the central mouth. Colours include, white, cream, pink, orange, red, grey, brown and olive-green. The tentacles are translucent but may have a white band, and some specimens have a darker column and much paler disc.

Rockport, Massachusetts

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