Cnidaria · cnidarians

Northern red anemone

Urticina felina

Actiniidae · common anemonesIUCN: Not evaluated
Northern red anemone
Photo: Ryan Murphy RMJMurphy · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A thick red-and-green anemone of cold rocky shores.

Fun factIt sticks gravel and shell fragments to its column as camouflage.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, Arctic Ocean
Depth zone
Intertidal shore, Coastal shallows & estuaries
Diet
Shrimp, crabs & small fish
Size
Up to 20 cm across

Classification

Cnidaria › Anthozoa › Actiniaria › Actiniidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Phylum Cnidaria cnidarians
    • Radially symmetric bodies with one opening that is both mouth and anus
    • Stinging cells (cnidocytes) fire tiny harpoons (nematocysts)
    • Two body forms: an attached polyp and a swimming bell (medusa)
  3. Class Anthozoa corals & anemones
    • Live only as polyps; there is no swimming jellyfish stage
    • Gut is divided by internal walls (mesenteries)
    • Includes corals and sea anemones
  4. Subclass Hexacorallia stony corals & anemones
    • Tentacles and internal walls come in multiples of six
    • Includes stony corals and sea anemones
  5. Order Actiniaria sea anemones
    • Sea anemones: single, soft-bodied polyps without a skeleton
    • Grip surfaces with a muscular base (pedal disc) and can slowly move
    • Catch prey with a ring of stinging tentacles around the mouth
  6. Family Actiniidae common anemones
    • The largest anemone family, common on rocky shores
    • Usually stout with short, thick tentacles
  7. Genus Urticina
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  8. Species Urticina felina Northern red anemone

Closest relatives in the guide