Corynactis annulata, the strawberry anemone, is a bright pink colonial anthozoa

Anthozoa

Anthozoa is a class within the phylum Cnidaria that contains the sea anemones and corals. Unlike other cnidarians, anthozoans do not have a medusa stage in their development. Instead, they release sperm and eggs that form a planula, which attaches to some substrate on which the cnidarian grows...

n similar in body form to sea anemone

Sea anemone

Sea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia. Anthozoa often have large polyps that allow for digestion of larger...

s and scleractinia

Scleractinia

Scleractinia, also called stony corals, are exclusively marine animals; they are very similar to sea anemones but generate a hard skeleton. They first appeared in the Middle Triassic and replaced tabulate and rugose corals that went extinct at the end of the Permian...

n stony corals. Unlike the true sea anemones, this species is a colonial animal of the order Corallimorpharia

Corallimorpharia

Corallimorpharia is an order of marine cnidarians closely related to the true sea anemones . They are mostly tropical, with a narrow column topped with a wide oral disc. The tentacles are usually short or very short, arranged in rows radiating from the mouth. Many species occur together in large...

.

Distribution

This species is found around the southern African coast from Port Nolloth to Mossel Bay, intertidally to 35m. It is also known from the Inaccessible Archipelago

Inaccessible Islands (South Orkney Islands)

The Inaccessible Islands are a group of small precipitous islands ranging from high, the westernmost features of the South Orkney Islands, lying west of Coronation Island. The Inaccessible Islands are located at...

 in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Description

The strawberry anemone is a very distinctive small bright pink anemone having white knobs on the ends of its tentacle tips. It grows to a diameter of 1 cm. Green and reddish colour morphs

Polymorphism (biology)

Polymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species — in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph...

are also known.

Ecology

It occurs in clusters and sheets on rocky reefs and wrecks. It feeds on small planktonic organisms.