Leather Anemone
Scientific Name: Urticina columbiana
Category: other
Brief Description
A medium-to-large sea anemone often found tucked into rocky crevices, known for its smooth, leathery red or brown column.
Characteristics
Deep red to reddish-brown smooth column, often covered in sand or shell fragments. When retracted, it looks like a fleshy red lump; when open, it reveals thick, blunt tentacles.
Habitat
Intertidal zones, rocky crevices, and sandy bottoms near reefs or docks.
When to Find It
Visible year-round, best viewed during low tide.
Conservation Status
N/A
Ecological Role
Acts as both a predator of small invertebrates and a host for certain species of shrimp and small fish.
Easily Confused With
Painted Anemone (Urticina grebelnyi), which usually has distinctive striping on tentacles, and Plumose Anemone, which has many more fine, frilly tentacles.
Observation Tips
Look in tide pools and deep rocky cracks during extreme low tides in the Puget Sound. Do not touch, as they are fragile and can deliver a mild sting.
Interesting Facts
They use specialized stinging cells called nematocysts to paralyze prey. These anemones can live for several decades in the right conditions.
User Notes
Puget Sound WA