Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Giant Green Anemone

Giant Green Anemone, (Anthopleura xanthogrammica).

 These relatives of jellyfish can be found along the west coast of the U.S. from Alaska all the way to Baja, Mexico. I photographed this one in the cool waters off Santa Barbara Island at a dive site called Shag Rock. These anemones catch the eye from far away but it is close up that they really put on a colorful show. You would be hard to find this neon green color elsewhere in nature. Just another reason to pay a few more visits to the ocean, even if you aren't in the tropics.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous2/11/2013

    I believe this is a sunburst anemone (Anthopleura sola), because of the radial stripes.

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