Night Anemone (species: Phyllodiscus semoni) in Lizard Island area: all known taxa (Lizard Island Field Guide)
Phyllodiscus semoni
Night Anemone


©Lyle Vail: Phyllodiscus semoni at night, Big Vicki's Reef, Lizard Island.

©Lyle Vail: Phyllodiscus semoni at night, Big Vicki's Reef, Lizard Island.
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Hexacorallia
Order Actiniaria
Family Aliciidae
Genus Phyllodiscus
Species Phyllodiscus semoni

Colours

                   

Distinguishing features

A large anemone that emerges at night, can assume many forms, and has highly venomous nematocysts.

There are few Australian records. Small specimens have been reported from the fouling community within the aquarium at Australian Institute of Marine Sciece, Townsville (Shick et al, 1991). The current record is the only one that appears in Atlas of Living Australia (accessed 29 Sep 2020).

Size

  • Size data has not been obtained.

Synonyms

Distribution

Web resources

References

  • Hoeksema, B.W. and A.L. Crowther (2011). Masquerade, mimicry and crypsis of the polymorphic sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni and its aggregations in South Sulawesi, Contributions to Zoology, 80(4): 251-268. LIRS catalog number 90196.
  • Shick, M.P. Lesser and W.R. Stochaj, J.M. (1991). Ultraviolet radiation and photooxidative stress in zooxanthellate Anthozoa: the sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni and the octocoral Clavularia sp. Symbiosis, 10: 145-173. LIRS catalog number 90385.
  • van der Meij, S.G.A. Dreisma and Z. Waheed, S.E.T. (2018). Multiple observations of the sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni Kwietniewski, 1897 (Actiniaria: Aliciidae) from Sabah, Borneo represent first records for Malaysia. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 18: 135-138. LIRS catalog number 90384.