Beadlet Anemone

Cnidarian

Identification & Biology

• IdentificationA small, robust anemone with a smooth column and a ring of up to 192 short, thick tentacles. Most commonly deep red, but also found in green, orange, brown, and strawberry (red with green spots) colour forms. When exposed at low water, the tentacles retract and the animal resembles a smooth, shiny blob.
• SizeColumn diameter up to 5 cm. Height up to 5 cm when extended.
• Social HabitSolitary but often found in dense aggregations. Highly territorial and aggressive toward other anemones, using specialised stinging structures (acrorhagi) on the column to attack neighbours that encroach on their territory.
• HabitatRocky intertidal zone, tide pools, and shallow subtidal rocks. One of the most characteristic animals of Mediterranean rocky shores.
• DepthIntertidal to 10 m. Most common in the splash and intertidal zones.
• Feeds OnSmall fish, shrimps, crabs, and other invertebrates that blunder into the tentacles. Also captures mussels and organic particles.
• DistributionEastern Atlantic from Scandinavia to West Africa, and throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Abundant on all Maltese rocky shores.
• DescriptionActinia equina is one of the toughest animals on the Mediterranean shoreline. It tolerates hours of exposure to air and direct sun at low water, retracting its tentacles and relying on the moisture sealed inside its column. The territorial battles between adjacent individuals, conducted with specialised stinging weapons, are one of the most studied examples of intraspecific aggression in marine invertebrates.