Dahlia anemones are named after Dahlia flowers as they are brightly coloured with up to 160 tentacles that are spread out like the petals on a Dahlia flower head. Their colours range from purples, pinks, yellows, and oranges, but they are most-commonly red in colour with striped tentacles.

The Dahlia anemone is one of the largest anemones that can be found on rocky shores around Ireland’s coast. If you are snorkelling or scuba diving you will also be familiar with these anemones as they can be found on the seabed down to depths of 100m. Dahlia anemones can form dense beds on the sea floor that look somewhat like an underwater garden!

Dahlia anemones have stinging cells within their tentacles that allow them to immobilise their prey. Their sting would not be potent enough to harm humans, but it does immobilise small fish and invertebrates that the Dahlia anemone feeds on.

If you spot Dahlia anemones in rockpools, you will most likely notice that they are covered in fragments of sand and gravel. They collect these fragments to help camouflage themselves and hide from any predators.