About Nematostella vectensis

The starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis, is a cnidarian, a phylum that also includes coral, jellyfish and hydras. N. vectensis has a tubular shape (length ranges from about 2 to 6 cm) with a bulbous area at the basal end (used to burrow into the mud) and an oral disk containing the mouth and two rings of tentacles at the top end. It has been observed in salt marshes around the coast of United Kingdom, East and West coasts of the USA, and Nova Scotia in Canada.

Nematostella vectensis can reproduce asexually all year round, and sexually during summer and autumn. Its sensitivity to hypoxia (low levels of oxygen) makes it a good indicator for pollution, and N. vectensis are the simplest organism with true tissues. These characteristics mean that the species is used in a variety of fields, including evolution, genomics, reproductive biology, developmental biology and ecology.

Picture credit: Southeastern Regional Taxonomic Center

Taxonomy ID 45351

Data source Joint Genome Institute

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