Beadlet Anemone 
 

Common Name(s):  Beadlet Anemone Scientific Name:  Actinia equina Family: Usual Size:      25 mm (base diameter)

                      Photographs by Andy Horton

Identification: Colours: red, green, brown.  The blue beads (acrorhagi) are always present at the top of the column underneath the tentacles. Occasionally they are white or off-blue.   The green variety is sometimes known as Actinia prasina. Similar species:   Actinia fragacea , Anthopleura ballii   Breeding:  Viviparous.  Young approx. 12 -100   Beadlet Anemone, Actinia equina, spurting out a young anemone. The best explanation of their reproduction is by parthogenesis. However, the author of this piece (Andy Horton) considers the likelihood that they break off internally (a bit like internal basal laceration) to be a  possibility. No evidence of sexual reproduction has been observed despite extensive study.  Spring 2000: You remember the big Beadlet you gave me ages ago ? Came downstairs this morning and found it has literally exploded...there are hundreds of tiny anemones everywhere in the tank, all over the parent, the rocks, pumps..they are everywhere. I've never seen one do that before, the other ones I've had have normally given birth to a few at a time, not like this one. The parent seems to be OK, a bit shrunken and lumpy, but otherwise fine.  Richard Huggett Beadlet Anemone with lots of babies about to spurt out (July 2003) Photograph by David Hallett via the Wet Thumb Smart Group Habitat: Intertidal.    Beadlet Anemones with their tentacles retracted.   Food: Mussel flesh, small crustaceans (copepods, larvae), fragments and whole larger (dead) crustaceans, worms. Small crabs, especially the Shore Crab.  Biogeographical Range: NE Atlantic, Arctic-tropics (salinity over 2.8% only, absent from the Baltic).  Temperature range 2º C - 28º C.  Bionomics:  Additional Notes: In captivity, this anemones has been changing colour, over a long period of time (about one month). The notes have been lost, but the anemone either changed from red to green through an intermediate brownish stage or vice-versa.  Sea Anemones fight over territory. The red Beadlet Anemone, Actinia equina uses its acrorhagi (blue beads) and the green Snakelocks Anemone, Anemonia viridis uses its long tentacles. pic. Double-headed specimens can occur.  Neither "catch tenctacles" or acontia have been observed in this species.  "Sir John Dalyell at his time kept a well-known specimen of Actinia equina named "Granny" in captivity for decades and at his decease Charles Peach inherited the animal, which in this way happened to live in Edinburgh for more than 50 years, so at least certain species seem to be able to have a very long potential life span."  (from Hans.G.Hansson@TMBL.GU.SE **** Tjaernoe Marine Biological Lab. **** http://www.tmbl.gu.se   Phone: +46 526 686 36   Fax: +46 526 686 07 Personal home page: http://www.tmbl.gu.se/staff/HansGHanssonP.html  ) More Information Link Time lapse of the anemone crawling (External site) http://www.nhm.ukans.edu/~inverts/ Stripes occur on both red and green specimens. The blue acrorhagi can be seen clearly in this Sussex specimen.  Information wanted: Please send any records of this sea anemone, with location, date, who discovered it, how it was identified, prevalence, common name and any other details to:  Shorewatch Project EMail Glaucus@hotmail.com.  All messages will receive a reply.  Shorewatch Project Cnidaria Web Site (World)