
Location:
This species is found from the Pribilof Islands, Alaska to the waters of Central California. They inhabit the low intertidal and subtidal regions of the ocean to a 30 meter depth. While some species of anemones are found widely in tropical zones, Urticina crassicornis is more prone to the colder intertidal areas of the Pacific waters.Size seems to correlate to which level of the intertidal zone these animals are found, although no research has been found on this correlation yet. It seems that from personal observation that there are greater densities of the large anemones in deep zones of the water. Whatever the case, these organisms are found at all levels in the intertidal zone, and can be seen very clearly during low tides.
Locomotion:
Urticina crassicornis like other anemones, tend to be solitary organisms. They also tend to be sedentary, however they have been found to move about in order to escape predation, and to find new substrates to attach to.These anemones move with the help of their pedal disc. They glide on these discs to different substrates. They also have been seen moving by "walking" on their tentacles and the trunks of their bodies. These animals can also swim, although they only tend to do so in extreme situations, such as escaping predation. They swim by contracting and elongating their bodies by way of their hydrostatic skeleton.
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Copyright 2002 Karlee Markovich