Anemone Life spans

[blackcloudmedia]

So let me ask a question. We are told that anemones live up to a hundred years in nature. How on Earth do "they" know this? Last Ive seen there was no species tagging system in 1907. So who sat there and watched the anemone age? I just ask becuase perhaps its normal for anemones to die after two years or sooner. After all other Cnideria such as the very similar Jellyfish are renowned for their short life span. Sea Pens are also Cnidaria and further reading tells us that sea pens may live up to a hundred years......"IF" the annual rings inside them are in fact annual. THese arent trees lol. Corals are also in the Cnidaria family but of course theres a "little" difference between a coral and an anemone anatomically speaking. Plus developement of a calcium skeleton takes time so its understandable that this species would live longer. But, dont take this as bosting, but my anemone has grown from 2 inches to 12 inches in one month. So whos to say that my anemone in nature would have reproduced already (given that many species dont reproduce at all in captivity) and after reproducing for 12 months....it dies. Noone to my knowledge has put a camera next to an anemone in the wild and watched it. Anemones move around. If someone says "I saw a sebae right here and returned 10 years later and the sebae was still there" you cant say its the same one. So how old do anemones get? Who knows. Lets ask one.

 

[Anonymous]

Anemones in nature are capable of living hundreds of years, however most die either due to predation, disease or other natural calamities. Under ideal conditions (which should be our tanks though usually not) they should live for hundreds of years.

mario

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Yes but based upon what information? Weve heard that but theres no evidence. Just saying they live hundreds of years doesnt make them live for hundreds of years. I could say toilets are gateways to other galaxies but that doesnt make them gateways. I bet if we put in hours of research we would find that all sources saying they live that long came from one single source (a book per se) and that book said "anemones MAY even live for hundreds of years" and that sounded neat so everyone that read it accepted it. Kind of like evolution...Darwin had no proof, but it sounded good, so people accepted it...and have spent every day since then trying to proove it.

THis is my new project. TO find impericle evidence.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

First of all "googling" Sea Anemone" brings up many self made 8th grade level reports on Sea Anemones. Many of these say anemones live 100 years but none of them give sources. THis is the danger of the internet is misinformation in large amounts. Adolf Hitler is quoted as saying "If you tell a lie loud enough and long enough, after a while it may become believable in the minds of those to whom the propaganda is directed" He says this in Mine Kompf by the way....I always cite sources :lol:


Reputable sources:



Encarta encyclopedia-Does not mention life span

Marine Bio.com- No information available on anemones

NOT Reputable sources:

WIKIPEDIA a user editable Encyclopedia- "it is common for collected specimens to be well over 100 years old."..... DOES NOT cite a source nor evidence of how Anemones are aged.

 

[Anonymous]

I think if you dig around a little bit you'll find your answer. The little searching I did came up with this, which is a start:

A sea-anemone (Actinia mesembryanthemum), captured in 1828 by Sir John Dalyell, a Scottish naturalist, and then guessed to be about seven years old, lived in captivity until 1887, the cause of death being unknown. As other instances of great ages attained by sea-anemones are on record, it is plain that these animals, although simple polyps, are long-lived.

As far as telling the age by size, it can't be done, as size varies with the amount of food consumed.

mario

 

[Anonymous]

I've heard that anemone cells don't go through senescence (aging) quite like they're supposed to. The whole asexual reproduction thing throws a monkey wrench into matters as well. If a 10 year old anemone splits, do you now have two 10 year old or 0 year old anemones? And if you say 10 years, then anemones could essentially be considered immortal. Or at least live for thousands of years. There are Porites coral colonies (Chris could probably tell you more about this) whose age goes back thousands of years. It's genetically the same organism.

http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Anemone2.htm

 

[72xmulch]

yeah ive been around for the last 6 billion years or so, i dont know about you but its in MY genetics

 

[EEric]

Hmmmm.Me spidie senses are tingling.

 

[EEric]

whoops

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/blueplanet/ ... e_bg.shtml

Life span
Sea anemones are anecdotally very long-lived, reaching 60-80 years and more. Like other Cnidarians, they do not age, meaning they have the potential to live indefinitely. Most fall foul to predators before a good age is reached.

 

[Anonymous]

yeah ive been around for the last 6 billion years or so, i dont know about you but its in MY genetics

Not the same thing. Coral colonies are clones of the same exact DNA.

 

[davesafc]

Adolf Hitler is quoted as saying "If you tell a lie loud enough and long enough, after a while it may become believable in the minds of those to whom the propaganda is directed" He says this in Mine Kompf by the way....I always cite sources :lol:

how does hitler know this and what was his sources for knowing this is true?