Renilla reniformis "Sea Pansy"

     The Sea Pansy is quite frequently found washed ashore on northeast Florida beaches following northeasterly winds | rough surf conditions. It also can often be found living intertidally (in-situ) completely buried in the sand. The Sea Pansy is an anthozoan and is a collection of polyps having different forms and functions. A single, giant polyp up to two inches in diameter forms the anchoring stem (peduncle). This peduncle can be distended to better anchor the colony in the substrate. The sea pansy is strikingly bioluminescent when disturbed, due to Green Fluorescent Protein, a molecule that has become extremely important recently for modern biological science.

Little Talbot Island State Park, Duval County, Florida (about 50 mm.)