Club Tipped Anemone

Appearance

The Club Tipped Anemone is circular and can reach up to 30cm in diameter, while its tentacles can reach up to 15cm in length. In total, they can have up to 90 tentacles, which resemble the shape of a baseball bat.
Usually, Telmatactis cricoides are two-coloured, with many variations. Some are white violet, pink, red, green, orange or reddish brown.

Distribution

When diving in the Canary Islands you can observe them at almost every dive.In addition, they are found in the Gulf of Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, in the eastern Mediterranean until Malta, the Azores, Madeira and the coasts of Spain and Portugal.

Behavior

Although they can be admired in very dark places in the day completely open, Club Tipped Anemone are usually drawn together during the day and you hardly see anything of them. They are active in the night and are very quickly retracted when the light is strong. They live solitaire and stay in place when they have found a suitable place. If the conditions are not optimal, they can slowly move on their feet.

A variety of crustacean species may be found, associated with this anemone.

Habitat

Telmatactis cricoides lives in crevices, caves or under stones. So they basically prefer a dark location. The Club Tipped Anemone can be found down to depths of 40m.

Food

Telmatactis cricoides feeds on zooplankton and light.