Biodiversity & Conservation

Dahlia anemone - Urticina felina - General information

Urticina felina

Image Robert Keen - Urticina felina at Scapa Flow, Orkneys.
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Distribution map

Urticina felina recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Urticina felina?
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Urticina felina is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Angus Jackson and Dr Keith Hiscock Text page icon Refereed by: Prof. Daphne Fautin

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Cnidaria Sea anemones, corals, sea firs & jellyfish
Class Hexacorallia
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Found on all coasts of the British Isles.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Typically found on the lower shore and subtidally, particularly on shores with strong wave action or subtidal areas with strong tidal streams. Small individuals may be found as high as the mid-tide line. Attaches very firmly to rocks and boulders, typically in crevices and gullies, sometimes forming dense carpets. Occurs in estuaries where hard substrata are present.
Text page icon Description A large anemone (base up to 15 cm diameter) with up to 160 short (up to 2 cm), stout tentacles arranged in multiples of ten. Individuals from offshore tend to be larger. The coloration is very variable, ranging through white, yellow, orange, red, blue, grey, purple and brown being either plain or more commonly in some combination. Perhaps most commonly with a red column blotched with green/grey and a prominent pattern of red lines amongst the tentacle bases. The tentacles are usually banded but may be plain. There are numerous grey warts on the column to which gravel and shell fragments stick. When the tentacles are fully retracted, the body of the anemones may be almost obscured by these adherent particles.

This review can be cited as follows:

Angus Jackson and Dr Keith Hiscock 2008. Urticina felina. Dahlia anemone. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 19/06/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=4556>