Atlantic Beadlet Anemone
Actinia equina
Strawberry Anemone
Actinia fragacea
About
The strawberry anemone gets its name from its deep red column, dotted with green like the skin of the fruit. It clings to rocks on shallow shores across the northeast Atlantic.
How to tell it apart
It looks like the closely related beadlet anemone, but grows larger. Look for a visible ring of pale spots just inside the top of the column - the beadlet anemone lacks this ring.
Appearance
Its smooth column is red or dark red with many small greenish spots. Its tentacles are red or purplish. A ring of pale blue, red, pink, or white spots sits just inside the top of the column.
Habitat
This anemone lives on rocks and boulders on the lower shore and in shallow water just below it, sometimes half-buried in sand. It is found from Norway down through the Mediterranean and North Africa, including some Atlantic islands.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
