Bubble tip sea anemone

About this species

Bubble-tip anemone is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. Like several anemone species, E. quadricolor can support several anemonefish species, and displays two growth types based on where they live in the water column, one of which gives it the common name, due to the bulbous tips on its tentacles.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Bubble-tip anemone”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 198 records
February: 172 records
March: 229 records
April: 233 records
May: 261 records
June: 267 records
July: 237 records
August: 211 records
September: 209 records
October: 227 records
November: 267 records
December: 158 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–92 m · Deepest record: 200 m

0–10 m: 76 records
10–20 m: 29 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 4 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 8 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 21–29 °C

20–22 °C: 4 records
22–24 °C: 29 records
24–26 °C: 20 records
26–28 °C: 30 records
28–30 °C: 52 records

Photos

(c) Nhobgood, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Nhobgood, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ben Costamagna, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ryan McMinds, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Bubble tip sea anemone, Bubble-tip anemone, Bulb tentacle sea anemone, Bulb-tentacle sea anemone, Bulb-tip anemone, Four-colored anemone, bubble-tip anemone, bubble tip sea anemone, bulb tentacle sea anemone, bulb-tentacle sea anemone, bulb-tip anemone, four-colored anemone, giant red anemone, maroon anemone, rose anemone, Rose Bubble Tip Anemone

Names in 5 more languages

German: Blasenanemone, Knubbelanemone, Kupferanemone, Rote Riesenaktinie
French: Anémone à bouts renflés
Japanese: ウスカワイソギンチャク, サンゴイソギンチャク, タマイタダキイソギンチャク
Korean: 큰산호말미잘
Simplified Chinese: 四色蓬錐海葵, 奶嘴海葵

Other scientific names: Actinia (Entacmaea) adhaerens, Actinia (Entacmaea) helianthus, Actinia (Entacmaea) quadricolor, Actinia (Isacmaea) erythrosoma, Actinia (Taractostephanus) quadricolor, Actinia (Tristephanus) ehrenbergii, Actinia ehrenbergii, Actinia erythrosoma, Actinia quadricolor, Actinia quatricolor, Actinia vas, Actinia vasa, Actinia vasum, Anemonia adhaerens, Anemonia adherens, Anemonia erythrosoma, Anemonia kwoiam, Anemonia ramsayi, Antheopsis carlgreni, Aulactinia gelam, Cereactis quadricolor, Condylactis erythrosoma, Condylactis ramsayi, Corynactis quadricolor, Corynactis vas, Crambactis arabica, Crambractis arabica, Cymbactis maxima, Entacmaea (Parasicyonis) actinostoloides, Entacmaea adhaerens

Similar species

Entacmaea medusivora
Beadlet anemone
Actinia equina
Opelet anemone
Anemonia viridis
Aggregating anemone
Anthopleura elegantissima
Red Waratah Anemone
Actinia tenebrosa
Small Brown Sea Anemone
Anthopleura hermaphroditica

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,231 open-data records from 1828 to 2006.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.