Cnidarian · anemone relative

Giant abyssal anemone

Relicanthus daphneae

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic Found in 3 oceans

Depth

Around 3,000 m in the Indian Ocean

Size

Body up to 1 m, tentacles up to about 2 m

Diet

Prey caught with its tentacles, such as shrimp

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• It is not a true anemone. It forms a separate group, a cousin of sea anemones.
• In the Indian Ocean, it lives on rock, a few tens or hundreds of meters from the hot vents.
• In 2024, researchers filmed it for the first time capturing prey: a Rimicaris kairei shrimp.
• Scale worms roam over its tentacles without being eaten.

Verified sources

1. Neufeld et al. 2024, First record of Relicanthus daphneae at Indian Ocean vents (JMBA, PDF)
2. Neufeld et al. 2024, DOI

In the game: Mild danger: stings

In the same zone

Snow crabChionoecetes opilio Sculptured shrimpSclerocrangon boreas Kolga sea cucumberKolga hyalina Sea strawberryGersemia rubiformis Spoonarm octopusBathypolypus arcticus Warty bobtail squidRossia palpebrosa