Starlet sea anemone

The starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) is a species of small sea anemone in the family Edwardsiidae native to the east coast of the United States, with introduced populations along the coast of southeast England and the west coast of the United States. Populations have also been located in Nova Scotia, Canada. This sea anemone is found in the shallow brackish water of coastal lagoons and saltmarshes where its slender column is usually buried in the mud and its tentacles exposed. Its genome has been sequenced and it is cultivated in the laboratory as a model organism, but the IUCN has listed it as being a "Vulnerable species" in the wild.
Description
The starlet sea anemone has a bulbous basal end and a contracting column that ranges in length from less than 2 to 6 cm (0.8 to 2.4 in). There is a fairly distinct division between the scapus, the main part of the column, and the capitulum, the part just below the crown of tentacles. The outer...