Biodiversity & Conservation

Beadlet anemone - Actinia equina - General information

Actinia equina

Image Peter Barfield - Brilliant red Actinia equina. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Actinia equina recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Actinia equina is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Olwen Ager Text page icon Refereed by:

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Cnidaria Sea anemones, corals, sea firs & jellyfish
Class Hexacorallia
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Found all around the coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Actinia equina is found attached to hard substrata, both in exposed and sheltered situations, from the upper to lower shore and rarely in subtidal areas to depths of around 20 m. It is highly adapted to the intertidal zone as it tolerates high temperatures and desiccation. Actinia equina is also found in regions of variable salinity such as estuaries.
Text page icon Description This anemone has a broad (up to 5 cm in diameter) base, which is moderately or firmly adhesive, with a smooth column. It has up to 192 tentacles arranged into 6 circles. The tentacles readily retract if the animal is disturbed. Actinia equina is uniform in colour, with no pattern on the disk, and can be red, brown, green or orange in colour. Bright blue wart like spots, called acrorhagi, are often found round the inside of the top margin of the column.

This review can be cited as follows:

Olwen Ager 2008. Actinia equina. Beadlet anemone. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 31/07/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2359>