Biodiversity & Conservation

Beadlet anemone - Actinia equina

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.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Cnidaria Sea anemones, corals, sea firs & jellyfish
Class Hexacorallia
Authority Linnaeus, 1758
Recent synonyms None
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.
Identifying features
  • Broad base up to 5 cm in diameter, usually wider than tall.
  • Smooth column.
  • Up to 192 retractable tentacles arranged into 6 circles.
  • Red, green, brown or orange in colour.
  • Bright blue wart like spots often present.
Additional information icon Additional information Actinia equina displays aggressive behaviour towards neighbouring individuals. This aggressive behaviour is stimulated when the tentacles of adjacent anemones come into contact. The aggressor stings the victim with nematocysts, in the acrorhagi, which leads to the victim either crawling away or dropping off the substratum. The strawberry anemone, Actinia fragacea, is more plump than Actinia equina and is red to reddish brown in colour with greenish spots (Manuel, 1988).

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 22/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2359>