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The anemone Ceriantheopsis austroafricanus is so far only known from False Bay and Gordon's Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, which is located in False Bay.re
The anemone was discovered in shallow water depths on soft bottoms with sand and gravel.
Ceriantheopsis austroafricanus is a large cerianthid with about 70 tentacles in marginal and labial cycles.
The marginal tentacles are relatively short, about the same length as the labial tentacles (1.2-1.4 cm), but thicker at the base: 1.5 and 0.9 mm, respectively.
Oral disc is broad, distance between marginal and labial tentacles is up to 1.5 cm.
Tentacles of each group are arranged in four pseudocycles.
Color. The anemone occurs in at least three color variations:
(1) purple marginal and labial tentacles, fleshy oral disc with radiating with radially arranged brown stripes.
(2) uniform outer marginal tentacles, labial tentacles and oral disc, with broad brown at base and tips of inner marginalia;
(3) uniform flesh-colored outer margins and oral disc, inner margins purple, labial tentacles brownish with purple tips.
Ceriantheopsis austroafricanus is not a symbiotic anemone.
Etymology: The species name "austroafricanus" comes from Latin and means 'South African'.
The anemone was discovered in shallow water depths on soft bottoms with sand and gravel.
Ceriantheopsis austroafricanus is a large cerianthid with about 70 tentacles in marginal and labial cycles.
The marginal tentacles are relatively short, about the same length as the labial tentacles (1.2-1.4 cm), but thicker at the base: 1.5 and 0.9 mm, respectively.
Oral disc is broad, distance between marginal and labial tentacles is up to 1.5 cm.
Tentacles of each group are arranged in four pseudocycles.
Color. The anemone occurs in at least three color variations:
(1) purple marginal and labial tentacles, fleshy oral disc with radiating with radially arranged brown stripes.
(2) uniform outer marginal tentacles, labial tentacles and oral disc, with broad brown at base and tips of inner marginalia;
(3) uniform flesh-colored outer margins and oral disc, inner margins purple, labial tentacles brownish with purple tips.
Ceriantheopsis austroafricanus is not a symbiotic anemone.
Etymology: The species name "austroafricanus" comes from Latin and means 'South African'.