White-spotted rose anemone

Biology

The white-spotted rose anemone has a column-shaped body, smooth and coloured red with white spots. Its tentacles are red, and have no stripes. It grows up to 10 centimetres in diametre and can be found in rocks, pillars and platforms up to 15 metres in depth. It feeds by closing its strong tentacles around small fish and invertebrates that dare to come too close to the anemone’s mouth.

Curiosities

This anemone is sometimes referred to as the "strawberry anemone", due to its bright reddish colour. This anemone’s species has a unique relationship with the painted greenling, Oxylebius pictus, a small fish species that, while young, seeks refuge amongst the white-spotted rose anemone tentacles.