Predatory relatives of corals and jellyfish, named after the anemone flower. Each is a single polyp, usually fixed to a hard surface, with a ring of stinging tentacles around a central mouth. Many get extra food from algae living in their cells.
Quick answers
What is it?Cnidarian
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Eaten in a few places, such as a curry soup in parts of Thailand and in Zhejiang, China.
At a glance
Found inOceans
HabitatOpen ocean, Coast
ColoursPink, Green, Purple
SizeSmall
LengthMostly 1.5–10 cm tall; a few reach 1 m
LegsNone
Covered inSkin
Lives alone
Lives for50–80 years
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Oceans worldwide.
- What it eats
- Fish, crustaceans and other small animals caught with stinging tentacles, and in many species food made by algae in their cells.
Did you know
Its sting paralyses fish, but clownfish are immune and shelter among its tentacles.
They creep around on their base, so slowly that the movement shows only in time-lapse.
One magnificent sea anemone lived for eighty years in captivity.
Often confused with
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