Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Calliactis polypus
anemona, Sea anemone
This species lives on shells inhabited by hermit crabs, exhibiting a base broardly expanded (adhering to the shell) and numerous highly contractile tenticles.
Hermit crabs and thus the anemones are found in soft subtrates in bays, coves and harbours to at least 40 m depth.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Anthozoa
Order
Actiniaria
Suborder
Enthemonae
Superfamily
Metridioidea
Family
Hormathiidae
Genus
Calliactis
Species
polypus
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Calliactis decorata (Couthouy in Dana, 1846), Calliactis miriam Haddon & Shackleton, 1893
Origin: Native
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- Fautin, D.G. Hickman, C.P., Jr., Daly, M. & Molodtsova, T. (2007) Shallow-water sea anemones (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria) and tube anemones (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Ceriantharia) of the Galápagos Islands. Pacific Science 61(4): 549-573.
- Hickman, C.P. Jr. (2008) A field guide to corals and other radiates of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 162 pp.
- Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Calliactis polypus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7880. Accessed 4 November 2026.