Northern red anemone
Encyclopedia
The northern red anemone or dahlia anemone, Urticina felina, is a marine invertebrate
found in the north Atlantic Ocean
, the North Sea
and the Baltic Sea
. Synonyms include Tealia crassicornis (Müller, 1776), Tealia felina (Linnaeus, 1761), and Urticina crassicornis (Müller, 1776). The colour is variable. The sea anemone
lives attached to rock
on the seabed from the lower tidal limit down to a depth of 100 m and also attached to other organisms. It eats small fish
and crustaceans, immobilizing its prey by firing groups of stinging cells (cnidae) into them.
s arranged in multiples of ten. The colour is very variable; some individuals have a red column with green blotches, grey verrucae and greyish banded tentacles; others have a red column and disc with grey verrucae and white tentacles. The tentacles are often banded and in many individuals there are thin red lines on the disc visible between the tentacles.
, the Baltic Sea
, the North Sea
and the northern Atlantic Ocean as far south as the Bay of Biscay
and the Gulf of Maine
.
, in crevices and gullies, among the holdfast
s of Laminaria
spp., in caves and partly buried in gravel.
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
found in the north Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Synonyms include Tealia crassicornis (Müller, 1776), Tealia felina (Linnaeus, 1761), and Urticina crassicornis (Müller, 1776). The colour is variable. The 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...
lives attached to rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
on the seabed from the lower tidal limit down to a depth of 100 m and also attached to other organisms. It eats small fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and crustaceans, immobilizing its prey by firing groups of stinging cells (cnidae) into them.
Description
The base is up to 120mm across and firmly adherent to the rock. Deep sea specimens are usually larger than inshore ones. The column is usually shorter than its diameter and its surface is covered in verrucae. There is a parapet at the top where the verrucae tend to be organised into rows. The verrucae usually have bits of gravel and debris attached to them and the contracted anemone has the appearance of a rounded hummock of gravel. The disc is not broader than the parapet and has up to 160 short tentacleTentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
s arranged in multiples of ten. The colour is very variable; some individuals have a red column with green blotches, grey verrucae and greyish banded tentacles; others have a red column and disc with grey verrucae and white tentacles. The tentacles are often banded and in many individuals there are thin red lines on the disc visible between the tentacles.
Distribution
U felina is found in the Arctic OceanArctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
, the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and the northern Atlantic Ocean as far south as the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
and the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
.
Habitat
U felina is found on rocks and boulders from the lower shore down to depths of 100 metres. It occurs in rock poolsTide pool
Tide pools are rocky pools by oceans that are filled with seawater. Many of these pools exist as separate entities only at low tide.Tide pools are habitats of uniquely adaptable animals that have engaged the special attention of naturalists and marine biologists, as well as philosophical...
, in crevices and gullies, among the holdfast
Holdfast
A holdfast is a root-like structure that anchors aquatic sessile organisms, such as seaweed, other sessile algae, stalked crinoids, benthic cnidarians, and sponges, to the substrate. ...
s of Laminaria
Laminaria
Laminaria is a genus of 31 species of brown algae , all sharing the common name "kelp". This economically important genus is characterized by long, leathery laminae and relatively large size. Some species are referred to by the common name Devil's apron, due to their shape, or sea colander, due to...
spp., in caves and partly buried in gravel.