Cnidarian · sea anemone

Ice anemone

Edwardsiella andrillae

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

Under the Ross Ice Shelf, about 270 m thick

Size

2.5 to 10 cm long

Diet

Small particles and plankton caught by its tentacles

Zone

Twilight zone · 200 – 1,000 m

Key facts

• It is the first known anemone that lives in ice: upside down, planted in the ice ceiling.
• Only its crown of 20 to 24 tentacles sticks out into the water.
• A robot lowered through a hole drilled in 270 m of ice saw thousands of them in 2010.
• No one yet knows how it digs into the ice or how it withstands the cold.

Verified sources

1. Daly et al. 2013, PLOS ONE : Edwardsiella andrillae
2. Live Science : des anémones accrochées sous la glace antarctique
3. The Antarctic Sun (USAP)
4. UT Marine Science Institute : An Upside-Down Garden of Icy Surprises

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Black prince copepodGaussia princeps Crystal amphipodCystisoma sp. Müller’s pearlsideMaurolicus muelleri Oceanic lightfishVinciguerria nimbaria Swordtail squidChiroteuthis calyx Odd bobtail squidHeteroteuthis dispar