Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Adult polyp of the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis, which is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and lives partially burrowed in the sediment of estuarine habitats. N. vectensis has recently emerged as a leading experimental model system among evolutionarily basal animals.