OP
OP
I'm going to call it for Actinodendron arboreum.
[B]BranchingHammer[/B], I'm humbled by your research skills!
Quick update: not able to find that anemone (my bad for labeling it a coral!) in a diligent search of the area yesterday afternoon (like of like finding a 4-leaf clover on a grass football field while poking along on an auto-mechanic's crawler!) (it was very low tide).
And wanted to emphasize that the Actinodendron arboreum I photographed was very stiff to the point of almost being rigid (like a stalk of celery) . And it did not act/move in the ways portrayed in the videos I'm going to list below. I didn't touch it to see if it would "disappear".
Anyway, since I think this is a super cool invert, I'm going to post what I found:
Awesome video of Actinodendron arboreum eating fish on a reef at night. (credit BranchingHammer - just adding the direct link)
Interesting video showing what looks like Actinodendron arboreum expanded
Short clip - great color (not sure if it is Actinodendron arboreum)
Another video. This one is a rather flaccid and unhappy looking anemone
From reefs.com:
"There’s little documented about the potential potency of this species. The closely related Pizza Anemone (Cryptodendrum adhaesivum) is well-known for the adhesive strength of its tentacles and the tendency it has for preying upon aquarium fishes, but it hasn’t been recorded in the medical literature as being especially toxic. The same likely goes for Thalassianthus; however, you’ll occasionally see this group misidentified in the aquarium trade as a far more dangerous foe, the Hell’s Fire Anemone (Actinodendron plumosum), a name that has also been regularly misapplied to aquarium specimens of Phyllodiscus. These three are very different in their morphology and are classified as belonging to three separate families. Correctly identifying them is important, though, as Thalassianthus is the only safe one of the bunch."
This Anemone Is A Very Convincing Xenia Mimic
“There's an old saying that says, fool me once, shame on you... Fool me—you can't get fooled again." President George W. Bush
reefs.com
This is a very interesting video (appears to be Actinodendron arboreum). This is definitely one weird anemone!
R2R photo of "Hell's fire anemone"
https://www.reef2reef.com/media/hells-fire-anemone.5706/
They should call it the "disappearing anemone"...
...no wonder I can't find it again!
One final video:
