Sea pen. The sea pen feeds mainly on plankton. It anchors itself in the sand or mud, favourably in the path of currents, where plankton is plentiful.

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Sea pen. The sea pen feeds mainly on plankton. It anchors itself in the sand or mud, favourably in the path of currents, where plankton is plentiful. As a form of defence it forces water out of itself, which causes it to deflate. It then retreats into its peduncle. Photographed in the Banda Sea, Indonesia.

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Size: 3401px × 5120px
Photo credit: © PETER SCOONES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: alcyonaria, animal, anthozoa, aquatic, archored, attached, banda, biological, biology, cnidarian, coelenterate, dark, evening, fauna, floor, indo-pacific, indonesia, invertebrate, invertebrates, life, marine, nature, night, nighttime, ocean, octocoral, pen, pennatulacea, sea, seabed, sessiliflorae, single, subselliflorae, tentacle, tentacles, tropical, underwater, water, wildlife, zoological, zoology