Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.
The dahlia anemone is a sea anemone found in the north Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Its colour is variable, from deep red to brown or purplish, with green spots and darker tentacles. Dahlia anemones live attached to rock on the seabed from the lower tidal limit down to a depth of 100 m and also attached to other organisms. Their diet comprises small fish and crustaceans, which they immobilize by firing groups of stinging cells (cnidae) into them. Dahlia anemones are closely related to mottled anemones, and both species are usually referred to as northern red anemones.
Urticina crassicornis, commonly known as the mottled anemone, the painted anemone or the Christmas anemone, is a large and common intertidal and subtidal sea anemone. Its habitat includes a large portion of the coastal areas of the northern hemisphere, mainly polar regions, and it lives a solitary life for up to 80 years. Mottled anemones are similar to Dahlia anemones and both are commonly referred to as northern red anemones.
Phymanthus crucifer, commonly known as rock flower anemone, flower anemone, red beaded anemone or the beaded anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Phymanthidae. It has been described as "closely similar" to Heteractis aurora in several ways, commonly exhibiting "tentacles with swollen cross-bars" bearing large clusters of stinging nematocysts. However, P. crucifer may also be found with smooth tentacles, sometimes in the immediate vicinity of a swollen-crossbarred specimen.
Epiactis prolifera, the brooding, proliferating or small green anemone, is a species of marine invertebrate in the family Actiniidae. It is found in the north-eastern Pacific. It has a feature rare among animals in that all individuals start life as females but develop testes later in their lives to become hermaphrodites.
Cereus pedunculatus or the daisy anemone is a species of sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae. It is found in shallow parts of the northeast Atlantic Ocean and in the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is an omnivore, predator and scavenger.
Sagartia troglodytes is a species of sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae, also known as the mud sagartia or the cave-dwelling anemone.
Sagartia ichthystoma is a species of sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae, also known as the fish-mouth anemone. The species name refers to the short pointed tentacles round the edge of the disc which resemble the sharp teeth of certain fish.
Metridium senile, or frilled anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Metridiidae. As a member of the genus Metridium, it is a type of plumose anemone and is found in the seas off north-western Europe and both the east and west coasts of North America.
Sagartia elegans, the elegant anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae. It is found in coastal areas of northwest Europe at depths down to 50 metres.
Peachia cylindrica is a large species of sea anemone in the family Haloclavidae. It is normally found burrowed into soft substrates, the only visible part of the animal being the oral disc and tentacles which usually lie flat on the sand. It is the type species of the genus Peachia.
Metridium farcimen is a species of sea anemone in the family Metridiidae. It is commonly known as the giant plumose anemone or white-plumed anemone. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska down to Catalina Island, California.
Bartholomea annulata is a species of sea anemone in the family Aiptasiidae, commonly known as the ringed anemone or corkscrew anemone. It is one of the most common anemones found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea.
Phlyctenactis tuberculosa, common name the wandering sea anemone or swimming anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. It is native to shallow seas around Australia and New Zealand. It was first described by the French zoologist Jean René Constant Quoy and the French naturalist Joseph Paul Gaimard. They were naval surgeons serving in the French Navy and made extensive collections of organisms they came across in their travels.
Condylactis aurantiaca, commonly known as the golden anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. This species always remains largely buried in sand or sediment, attached to the substrate, with only the oral disc and tentacles visible.
Aiptasia diaphana, commonly known as the yellow aiptasia or glasrose, is a species of sea anemone native to shallow waters in the temperate eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It has been introduced into the Red Sea.
Actinothoe sphyrodeta, the sandalled anemone, is a small sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and is common on the north, west and south coasts of Britain. It is usually grey or whitish but may have an orange oral disc. The translucent white tentacles that grow around the edge of the oral disc can number up to 120.
Corynactis viridis, the jewel anemone, is a brightly coloured anthozoan similar in body form to a sea anemone or a scleractinian coral polyp, but in the order Corallimorpharia. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and was first described by the Irish naturalist George Allman in 1846.
Cricophorus nutrix, commonly known as the brooding or nurseanemone, is a species of sea anemone endemic to New Zealand.
Actinostella flosculifera, the collared sand anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. It is found semi-immersed in the sediment in shallow water in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean.
