The dahlia anemone has a wide but short column, covered with warts. Sand and pieces of shells are often attached to these warts. The thick, fleshy tentacles are used to catch pray like small crabs, shrimps and small fish.
Size
The column is up to 65 mm high and has a diameter of 120 mm. They have up to 160 tentacles with a maximum length of 100 mm.
Colour
They appear in a great variety of colours. The characteristic lines on the oral disc are usually red, but can also have other colours. The column is brown, green, red, orange or purple. The tentacles can have spots but uniform colours are also very common. The mouth is red or brownish-red.
Habitat
The dahlia anemone is usually found in strong tidal waters, where it can use its pedal disc as a strong sucker against the current.
Distribution
Mainly in the western part of the Oosterschelde, but recently also in the western part of the Grevelingen.
