I always find it interesting how two examples of the same species can often look so very different. Case in point this lovely sea anemone drawing and the orange sea anenome that was originally published on the same book plate. Both sea anemone images are beautifully hand-colored pieces from an 1822 French natural history dictionary. As you might guess, they were included in the first volume of a 5-volume set.
Sea anemones are interesting creatures. They look a bit like a cross between coral and a venus fly trap and they both are carnivorous. This particular species appears to have a body that looks a bit like a shell. At the top are the tentacles that are used to lure, poison and bring their food into their mouth for consumption. The body is shades of brown and green while the tentacles are copper and reddish colored.
This sea anemone drawing is clearly in the public domain and I do hope someone can find a great new way to use this ocean-dweller in their own work.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
