Nematostella vectensis, the starlet sea anemone (family Edwardsiidae), is the premier model organism for cnidarian developmental biology and comparative genomics, a small burrowing anemone native to brackish estuarine habitats along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America. Its genome was sequenced in 2007, revealing a surprising degree of complexity and conservation with bilaterian gene content—including Hox genes and signaling pathways previously thought bilaterian-specific—revolutionizing understanding of animal genome evolution. The species is highly amenable to laboratory culture, spawning induction, and microinjection, enabling functional genomic studies.