Sincere and Enduring Love
The Anemone and the Crab
In the depths of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan, a new species of sea anemone has been discovered, Paracalliactis tsukisome. It’s species name, tsukisome, refers to its color, the pale-pink of the Crested Ibis or the peach blossom, the color that in classical Japanese poetry, symbolizes true and forever love.
How is it that a little-known sea creature, just discovered this past October, could suddenly represent something as sublime as enduring love? Therein lies the story.
Tsukisome doesn’t live alone. It attaches itself to the shell of a particular hermit crab, called Oncopagurus monstrosus. There it lives on sea detritus and the waste of Monstrosus. But Tsukisome is far more than a hitchhiker and squatter. After it attaches to the shell of Monstrosus, Tsukisome begins to produce a substance which covers the crab’s shell and grows beyond it. This substance hardens into a shell-like structure, which in effect enlarges the living space of the crab. So, unlike other hermit crabs, Monstrosus doesn’t need to forage around for new shells as it grows, remaining safely inside the growing home provided by its very close neighbor, Tsukisome. Furthermore, the anemone protects the crab as well as itself with its stinging tentacles.
Two creatures, from completely different taxonomic families, who happen to inhabit the same sea, find one another. They become attached. Literally. One feeds the other and gives it something to cling to. One protects and houses the other. They grow together, navigate their world together, and are never apart from one another. Each benefits from the relationship. What better example of sincere and enduring love could there possibly be?
To learn more about the fascinating lives of the anemone and the crab, check out these articles:
https://earthsky.org/earth/new-sea-anemone-builds-homes-for-hermit-crabs/
Fascinating and inspiring Denise! What an invitation to see the possibility of enduring love in places outside the "norm" . Nature is the First Gospel and continues to teach us eh?