Actiniidae is the largest family of sea anemones, to which most common, temperate, shore species belong. Most members of this family do not participate in symbioses with fishes. Three exceptions are the bubble-tip anemone, snakelocks anemone and Urticina piscivora.
Actinoscyphia is a genus of sea anemones of the family Actinoscyphiidae.
Edwardsia is a genus of sea anemones, the type of the family Edwardsiidae. They have eight mesenteries and live in tubes in the sand. The name, in Neo-Latin, commemorates the French zoologist Henri Milne-Edwards.
Aiptasia is a genus of a symbiotic cnidarian belonging to the class Anthozoa. Aiptasia is a widely distributed genus of temperate and tropical sea anemones of benthic lifestyle typically found living on mangrove roots and hard substrates. These anemones, as well as many other cnidarian species, often contain symbiotic dinoflagellate unicellular algae of the genus Symbiodinium living inside nutritive cells. The symbionts provide food mainly in the form of lipids and sugars produced from photosynthesis to the host while the hosts provides inorganic nutrients and a constant and protective environment to the algae. Species of Aiptasia are relatively weedy anemones able to withstand a relatively wide range of salinities and other water quality conditions. In the case of A. pallida and A. pulchella, their hardiness coupled with their ability to reproduce very quickly and out-compete other species in culture gives these anemones the status of pest from the perspective of coral reef aquarium hobbyists. These very characteristics make them easy to grow in the laboratory and thus they are extensively used as model organisms for scientific study. In this respect, Aiptasia have contributed a significant amount of knowledge regarding cnidarian biology, especially human understanding of cnidarian-algal symbioses, a biological phenomenon crucial to the survival of corals and coral reef ecosystems. The dependence of coral reefs on the health of the symbiosis is dramatically illustrated by the devastating effects experienced by corals due to the loss of algal symbionts in response to environmental stress, a phenomenon known as coral bleaching.
Hormathiidae is a family of sea anemones in the class Anthozoa.
Sagartiidae is a family of sea anemones.
Bunodosoma is a genus of sea anemones in the family Actiniidae.
Bunodactis is a genus of sea anemones in the family Actiniidae.
Urticina is a genus of relatively large and often colorful sea anemones in the family Actiniidae from the North Pacific, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
Actinia is a genus of sea anemones in the family Actiniidae. Actinia display a rare form of heteromorphosis in which a cut inflicted on a specimen can develop into a second mouth.
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.
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 is a genus of sea anemone in the family Haloclavidae. Members of this genus typically burrow into soft substrates. The only part of the animal that is normally visible is the oral disc and tentacles which lie flat on the sand in a star shape. The type species is Peachia cylindrica.
Leptogorgia is a genus of soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae. The genus has a widespread distribution with members being found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Western Europe to South Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic coasts of North and South America, the Antilles and the Pacific coast of America. Species are found in both shallow and deep waters.
Anemonia is a genus of sea anemones belonging to the family Actiniidae.
Lepidonotus is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae. The genus occurs globally and includes 80 species, usually found in shallow waters down to about 80 metres.
Phelliidae is a family of sea anemones.
Granny was the affectionate name eventually given to a beadlet sea anemone, Actinia equina, which in 1828 was taken from a rocky shore at North Berwick in Scotland by an amateur naturalist, John Dalyell. During her long life through the Victorian era, she was cared for by a series of Edinburgh naturalists. Long outliving Dalyell, this sea anemone lived alone in a jar where she gave birth to several hundred offspring before her death in 1887.
