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.
Sea anemones are the marine, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria. They are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant, because of the colourful appearance of many. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Hexacorallia. As cnidarians, sea anemones are related to corals, jellyfish, tube-dwelling anemones, and Hydra. Unlike jellyfish, sea anemones do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle.
Rhodactis howesii is a species of marine cnidarian in the order Corallimorpharia, a sea anemone-like corallimorph found on reefs in tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the green fuzzy mushroom, elephant ear mushroom coral, giant anemone, giant mushroom anemone and giant cup mushroom. This species is toxic when eaten raw and ingestion can cause fatal poisoning.
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.
Nemanthus annamensis, commonly known as the gorgonian wrapper, is a species of sea anemone found in central Indo-Pacific waters.
Adamsia palliata is a species of sea anemone in the family Hormathiidae. It is usually found growing on a gastropod shell inhabited by the hermit crab, Pagurus prideaux. The anemone often completely envelops the shell and because of this it is commonly known as the cloak anemone or the hermit-crab anemone.
Sagartia is a genus of sea anemones in the family Sagartiidae. The genus was first described by Philip Henry Gosse in 1855 and the image is his painting of several species found in British waters included in his book, A history of the British sea-anemones and corals.
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.
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.
Lebrunia neglecta is a species of sea anemone in the family Aliciidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
Anthothoe albocincta, or white-striped anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Sagartiidae. It is native to the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.
Phyllodiscus is a monotypic genus of sea anemones in the family Aliciidae. The only species is Phyllodiscus semoni, commonly known as the night anemone, which is native to shallow seas in the central Indo-West Pacific, such as Indonesia, the Philippines and southern Japan. It is venomous and can cause a painful, long-lasting sting to humans. It is called unbachi-isoginchaku in Japanese which translates as "wasp-sea anemone".
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.
Diadumene cincta is a small and delicate, usually orange, sea anemone. It has a smooth slender column and up to 200 long tentacles, and normally grows to a length of up to 35 mm (1.4 in), with a base of 10 mm (0.4 in), but specimens twice this size have been recorded. Diadumene cincta is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
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.
