Photo: Esculapio · Image source ·CC BY-SA 3.0
Animal profile · Other aquatic life · Sea anemone
Beadlet anemone
Actinia equina
The beadlet anemone is a small, usually red sea anemone that lives on rocky shores. When the tide falls, it can pull its tentacles inward and resemble a smooth jelly-like blob.
Not a fish · an aquatic neighborWater
Saltwater
Rocky intertidal shores, crevices, and tide pools.
Temperature
Range not established
No dependable species-specific wild temperature range was located.
Size
Usually up to about 5 cm (2 in) across
About the size of a large marble when contracted.
Lifespan
Not established in the wild
Life expectancy varies with place, conditions, and what scientists have been able to observe.
01 · Signature adaptation
What does it do?
It attaches to hard surfaces and expands when covered by water. It can retract its tentacles during exposure and may use blue-tipped structures around its edge in territorial contests.
02 · Home coordinates
Where does it live?
Rocky shores around western Europe and the Mediterranean, with additional Atlantic records from Africa and other temperate coasts.
Regions: North Atlantic Ocean · Mediterranean Sea · Western Europe · Atlantic coast of Africa
03 · The menu
What does it eat?
It uses stinging tentacles to capture small animals and move them to its central mouth.
Carnivore: small crustaceans, mollusks, tiny fish, plankton.
04 · Remember this
Two wow facts
Live young
It is unusual among anemones because it broods its young internally and releases them alive.
Sources [1]
Blue defenses
Blue acrorhagi around its edge can be used in fights with neighboring anemones.
Sources [2]