Corynactis californica

Corynactis californica
Large colony off Santa Cruz Island, California
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Subphylum: Anthozoa
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Corallimorpharia
Family: Corallimorphidae
Genus: Corynactis
Species:
C. californica
Binomial name
Corynactis californica
Carlgren, 1936

Corynactis californica is a brightly colored colonial anthozoan corallimorph. Unlike the Atlantic true sea anemone, Actinia fragacea, that bears the same common name, strawberry anemone, this species is a member of the order Corallimorpharia, and is the only member found on the west coast of North America. Other common names include club-tipped anemone and strawberry corallimorpharian. The anemone can live up to at least 50 meters (164 ft) deep on vertical rock walls, and at the bottom of kelp forests. It is known to carpet the bottom of some areas, like Campbell River in British Columbia, and Monterey Bay in California.