- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Cnidaria
- Class: Anthozoa
- Subclass: Hexacorallia
- Order: Actiniaria
- Suborder: Nyantheae
- Family: Actiniidae
- Scientific name: Urticina felina
- Norwegian: fjæresjørose
Characteristics:
The Dahlia anemone comes in a wide variety of colors, but it is often painted in shades of yellow, pink, red or brown. The radial stripes or bands on the oral disc is common. Around the mouth up to 160 short tentacles are used catch prey like shrimps and small fishes. In contrast to the similar Urticina eques, its body is covered by warts. The base may reach a diameter of 12 cm, sometimes more.
Habitat:
The Dahlia anemone can be found on any depth, from the low water mark and down to 200 metres. It prefers hard bottoms.
Distribution:
This is perhaps the most common anemone in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. It can be found in most of Europe, from Russia to Biscay. Does not seem to occur in the Pacific Ocean, but may have been confused with similar species there.