Diet

• Telmatactis panamensis is an opportunistic carnivore that feeds primarily on small organisms captured from the surrounding water and benthic environment.

• Its diet is dominated by zooplankton, particularly copepods, along with fish eggs and other planktonic organisms.

• Smaller quantities of benthic crustaceans, bivalves, gastropods and fish larvae are also consumed.

• The species appears to feed opportunistically on prey that is abundant around the anemone rather than selectively targeting particular organisms.

Range

• Telmatactis panamensis occurs in the eastern tropical Pacific, with records from Baja California and the Pacific coast of Mexico southward through Central America.

• It is present along the Pacific coast of Mexico and occurs in the Zihua region.

Habitat

• It is primarily associated with rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats.

• Individuals commonly live beneath rocks, attached to large cobbles or on other protected hard surfaces. They have also been recorded attached to shells.

• Records include the lower intertidal zone as well as shallow subtidal habitats, including depths of approximately 15 m.

• Its preference for sheltered surfaces allows it to remain protected from strong wave action while extending its tentacles into the surrounding water to capture prey.

Description

• Telmatactis panamensis is a relatively small sea anemone with an elongated, cylindrical column.

• The column is divided into a short, thick-walled upper scapulus and a longer scapus, which may have a rough appearance because of its cuticle and adhering sediment.

• The column is generally pale orange, beige or brownish, while the oral disc is flattened, broad and light orange to brown with scattered beige markings.

• The tentacles are relatively short, blunt and digitiform, typically reddish brown with a conspicuous pale or white cross-band near the base.

• The central portion of the oral disc around the mouth is largely free of tentacles, and the mouth is relatively small with a pale margin.