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Zoanthids (also known as: zoanthiniarians, zoantharians (proper), collonial anemones, button polyps; scientific names: Zoanthiniaria,Scrutton, Colin. (1997). The Palaeozoic corals, I: Origins and relationships. Proceedings of The Yorkshire Geological Society - PROC YORKS GEOL SOC. 51. 177-208 Zoanthinaria, Zoantharia,Sinniger F., Montoya-Burgos J.I., Chevaldonne P., Pawlowski J. (2005) Phylogeny of the order Zoantharia (Anthozoa, Hexacorallia) based on the mitochondrial ribosomal genes. Mar. Biol. 147 (5): 1121-1128. Zoanthidea, Zoanthidia, ZoantharidaMATIS, Dušan. Zoológia bezchordátov. Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského, 1997, p. 119. ISBN 8022311626) are an order of Hexacorallia.
Zoanthids are commonly found in coral reefs, the deep sea and many other marine environments around the world. These come in a variety of different colonizing formations and in numerous different colors. They can be found as individual polyps, attached by a fleshy stolon or a mat that can be created from small pieces of sediment, sand and rock. The term "zoanthid" refers to all animals within this order Zoantharia, and should not be confused with " Zoanthus", which is one genus within Zoantharia.
These are among the most commonly collected corals in reef aquaria, easily propagating and very durable in many water conditions.
While the most well-known zoanthids are the zooxanthellate genera found in tropical and sub-tropical waters (primarily Zoanthus and Palythoa), many other species and genera exist, some still relatively unknown to science.Reimer J.D., Ono S., Iwama A., Tsukahara J., Takishita K., Maruyama T. (2006) Morphological and molecular revision of Zoanthus (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) from southwestern Japan with description of two new species. Zoological Science 23 (3): 261-275.Reimer J.D., Hirano S., Fujiwara Y., Sinniger F., Maruyama T. (2007) Morphological and molecular characterization of Abyssoanthus nankaiensis, a new family, new genus and new species of deep-sea zoanthid (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Zoantharia) from a northwest Pacific methane cold seep. Inv. Syst. 21: 255-262.Reimer JD, Nonaka M, Sinniger F., Iwase F. (2008) Morphological and molecular characterization of a new genus and new species of parazoanthid (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Zoantharia) associated with Japanese red coral (Paracorallium japonicum) in southern Japan. Coral Reefs 27 (4):935–949.Sinniger F., Häussermann V. (2009) Zoanthids (Cnidaria: Hexacorallia: Zoantharia) from shallow waters of the southern Chilean fjord region with the description of a new genus and two new species. Org. Div. Evol. 9:23–36 Many zoanthids (in particular the genera Epizoanthus and Parazoanthus) are often found growing on other marine invertebrates.
Often in zooxanthellate genera such as Zoanthus and Palythoa there are a large number of different morphs of the same or similar species. Such zooxanthellate genera derive a large portion of their energy requirements from symbiotic of the genus Symbiodinium (zooxanthellae), similar to many corals, anemones, and some other marine invertebrates.
Note: there are some zoanthid genera such as Neozoanthus or Paleaozoanthus for which there are currently only few data available, those zoanthids having never been found again since their original description.
Reports are varied and conflicting on the potential dangers of handling the animal in the aquarist hobby. General opinion and practical experience holds that in order for this toxin to be dangerous to humans, the average aquarist would need to ingest the zoanthid in sufficient quantities, or brush a recent cut over it, and average handling, propagation and aquarium maintenance is unlikely to pose any danger beyond a localized skin reaction.
Other sources state that palytoxin can be absorbed through intact skin, and the danger of acute poisoning from venomous zoanthids is quite real. According to a report an aquarist was poisoned through skin injuries on fingers by a species of Parazoanthus, but recovered after three days. His zoanthid was found to contain 2-3 milligrams of PTX per gram.
It is prudent to always wear proper eye protection if cutting corals: Palytoxin has been known to damage the eyes of aquarists who are squirted in the eye, while attempting to propagate the coral by cutting it ("fragging"). Both temporary blindness and permanent blindness have been reported.
Research shows that in sublethal quantities, palytoxin is a tumor promoter, and is being studied in relation to signaling pathways in skin cancer genesis.
Generally it is considered proper practice to always wear appropriate protective gloves when reaching into salt water tanks and handling sea invertebrates.
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