Striped Anemonestar

The Striped Anemonestar fills much the same niche as their ancestor, being sessile in life and basing on areas above the seabed such as crystal flora and rock outcroppings. They have doubled in size so as to collect more organic matter from the water. Their reproductive strategy has changed: in addition to reproducing asexually through fragmentation, they can also reproduce sexually. Striped Anemonestar are sequential hermaphrodites. At the start of spring they will be male and produce sperm. After a few days when they have produced a large amount, they will become female and produce eggs. The sperm and eggs fuse to form a larva which will be released into the water. The larva will float for a few days before settling on the seafloor. The larva will then crawl to the highest solid ground they can and transition into their sessile adult form. Reproduction takes place throughout spring and summer. During reproduction, they are unable to scavenge on any nearby food and must rely on filter feeding alone.