Painted Anemone

urticina grebelnyi

The Painted Anemone is a vibrant sea creature that looks like a beautiful flower underwater! It has long, colorful tentacles that help it catch food in the ocean.

Habitat: Coastal waters and rocky shorelines of the Pacific Ocean.

Appearance

The Painted Anemone has a striking red, orange, or white column often marked with bold, contrasting stripes or blotches. Its short, numerous tentacles, sometimes with iridescent pink or purple tips, surround a central oral disc, making it look like a vibrant underwater flower.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumCnidariaClassAnthozoaOrderActiniariaFamilyActiniidaeGenusUrticina

Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USACC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsView original ↗

Painted Anemone

Interesting facts

Even though it looks like a plant, the Painted Anemone is actually a clever animal!

If one anemone is cut in half, both pieces can sometimes grow into whole new anemones!

Some anemones can live for more than 100 years, making them older than your great-grandparents!

The sticky feeling you get from some anemones is their super tiny stinging cells!

Special abilities

Painted Anemone has stinging cells called nematocysts that help them catch prey and protect against predators.

Painted Anemone can firmly attach its pedal disc to rocks or shells, helping them stay put in strong currents.

Painted Anemone can regrow lost tentacles or parts of its body if damaged, helping them recover from injuries.

Measurements & details

Length: 10 cm
Size: 10 cm
Lifespan: 50 years
Tentacle Count: 200
Average Depth M: 10 m

Diet & Feeding

They snatch small creatures like fish and shrimp passing by using their stinging tentacles.

Primary Foods

Small fish
Crustaceans
Zooplankton
Detritus

Foraging Method

Ambush

Ecological connections

Eaten by

Sunflower Sea Star

Pycnopodia helianthoides

This large sea star may prey on anemones.

Eaten by

Shaggy Sea Slug

Aeolidia papillosa

This nudibranch specifically feeds on sea anemones.

Shelter

Blueband Hermit Crab

Pagurus samuelis

Finds refuge near the anemone's stinging tentacles.

Traits

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Carnivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of animal tissue.

Aquatic

Aquatic habitats encompass environments where organisms live predominantly in water, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

Marine

Marine habitats encompass all saltwater environments of the Earth's oceans, supporting an immense diversity of aquatic life.

Also known as

Flower AnemonePacific Anemone

Collections

Invertebrates

Safety

Danger

1/5 · Very low

No special safety notes yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to identify Painted Anemone?

Look for fins, arms, tentacles, shells and body symmetry. Underwater light shifts colors, so structure and markings usually matter more than shade. Sea Creature Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

How long is Painted Anemone?

10 cm

How big is Painted Anemone?

10 cm

How long does Painted Anemone live?

50 years

What does Painted Anemone eat?

They snatch small creatures like fish and shrimp passing by using their stinging tentacles.

Where is Painted Anemone usually found?

Coastal waters and rocky shorelines of the Pacific Ocean.

How does Painted Anemone hunt?

Ambush