Rare Anthozoan ID challenge.

[ptychoptera]

I know what these are, but do you? This is an obscure anthozoan ID challenge!!!

They came in as hitchhikers in the tanks at the store I work at. They live buried in the sand or in crevices of the rocks, and they are capable of quick retraction. From tip to tip they are around an inch across, and the body buried in the sand is about an inch long. They reproduce occasionally, forming a tiny version of itself next to the parent. In the six months they've been in my tanks I've gone from four of these to seven.

A while ago Jake Adams (he of reef_builders fame) was pointed these out and could not give an ID. Yes, these humble brown creatures stumped THE Jake Adams. Are you up to the task. Can you ID these? There is virtually nothing about these written anywhere in the forums or elsewhere online, so this ID challenge is to help spread the word about these neat creatures.

Cheers!

[GerritM]

My gues is a Neocondylactis.

[GerritM]

My gues is a Neocondylactis.

or Edwardsia sp.

[ptychoptera]

or Edwardsia sp.

Well done, sir. I can't confirm whether this genus is correct or not, though as it is the largest tropical group in the Family Edwardsiidae it is quite likely. For now it is best to refer to these as edwardsiid anemones.

Hopefully these interesting hitchhikers will get a little more publicity. To the best of my knowledge this is the only reference I've know of concerning their existence in aquariums.

The only other relevant online information can be found here (http://www.hawaiisfishes.com/inverts/cnidarians/neatcnidarians.htm), third photo down.

Cheers.