Giant Green Anemone (Anthopleura xanthogrammica)

Description: This species of anemone can grow to be as large as a dinner plate, or about 30 centimeters in diameter and 30 centimeters tall. As the name suggests, this species of anemone is a lovely green color, and its column or base is an olive green. The flat surface called the oral disc and its surrounding tentacles can vary in their shades of green, from a vibrant bright green to a more blue hue and sometimes a grayish-blue color; the tentacles can also sometimes be a bit whiter.

Habitat: The giant green anemone’s geographic distribution ranges from Alaska to Baja California along the Pacific Coast of North America.

Diet: The diet of this species typically includes small fish, crabs, and mussels that have detached from rocks.

Tide Pool Tidbits:

• Similar to the aggregating anemone, the giant green anemone has symbiotic algae living within its tissues. However, unlike the aggregating anemone, the giant green anemone makes its green color itself rather than deriving it from the symbiotic algae. The algae and anemone still have a valuable relationship nonetheless; the algae are protected from grazers, and the anemone gains nutrients that result from the algae photosynthesizing. 

• On somewhat rare occasions, giant green anemones can be found eating much larger meals, such as different species of seabirds (typically their smaller young).

• Unlike the aggregating anemone, the giant green anemone avoids crowded spaces and prefers to live in solitude.

Reference: Central Coast Biodiversity