This crab gets its nickname for a very good reason. Phylum Cnidaria Invertebrates in the Phylum Cnidaria have specialized stinging cells. Common bay inhabitants in this group include anemones and jellyfish. The orange anemone is very common in San Francisco Bay. The anemone is small, approximately 1 cm in length, and is often found attached to the inside of empty shells or on sponges.
Orange anemones eat zooplankton that are immobilized by stinging cells on the anemone's tentacles.
They are filter-feeders, filtering out plankton from the water column as do clams and mussels. The study of fish is called ichthyology. The shape of the fish's body, the size and shape of its fins, the size and placement of its mouth and the coloration of the fish all have a story to tell. Other information about fish such as reproductive, physiological, and life history characteristics are not so easily determined by simply examining the structure of the fish. To gain access to this knowledge we must first be able to identify the fish and learn the name of the species to which the fish belongs.