Fish identification archive / Collared sand anemone

Collared sand anemone

Actinostella flosculifera

Fun facts for your next surface interval

Much of the animal can remain hidden beneath the sand. [source]
Its frilly collar is built from fused leaf-like projections. [source]
Photosynthetic partners occur within its tissues. [source]

Florida and local context

Reeflex reproduces a Pauline Walsh Jacobson image explicitly labeled Actinostella flosculifera, Blue Heron Bridge, Florida, USA, 2021. This is a source-labeled photograph, not an independently reidentified voucher or a current sighting guarantee.

A documented past record does not establish present abundance or guarantee an encounter.

Sources: Named-site photograph: source identification, not independently reidentified

How to recognize this animal

A conspicuous frilly collar surrounds the central disc and its tentacles. The collar is formed by rows of fused, leaf-like projections, while much of the column remains buried.

Sources: González-Muñoz and colleagues 2016: Venezuelan sea-anemone inventory

Size and life stages

The 2016 specimen description gives column heights of 20–80 mm. This is not the diameter of the expanded collar or a universal maximum; the directory size filter remains unassigned.

Sources: González-Muñoz and colleagues 2016: Venezuelan sea-anemone inventory

Habitat and where to look

Frequently associated with seagrass and sandy substrate, with only the collar, disc and tentacles exposed. The buried body makes this an easy animal to damage by stirring sediment.

Sources: González-Muñoz and colleagues 2016: Venezuelan sea-anemone inventory

Range and local context

The primary inventory records a western Atlantic range including the Caribbean. This guide’s local evidence is specifically the Blue Heron Bridge photograph caption, not the general tropical range.

Sources: González-Muñoz and colleagues 2016: Venezuelan sea-anemone inventory

What is on the menu?

The species carries photosynthetic algal partners and also extends tentacles for feeding. No quantitative split between those food sources or detailed local prey list was verified here.

Sources: Durán-Fuentes and colleagues 2022: anemones in high-sedimentation habitats; 2026 Actinostella redescription and new-species study

Daily habits and behavior

Published observations distinguish an expanded collar in daylight from expanded feeding tentacles at night. An animal’s immediate posture can vary; do not prod it to obtain a particular display.

Sources: Durán-Fuentes and colleagues 2022: anemones in high-sedimentation habitats

Mating and the next generation

No local reproductive season, larval duration or reliable species-specific clutch figure was established in this review. A retracting or folded individual should not be described as reproducing without evidence.

Sources: González-Muñoz and colleagues 2016: Venezuelan sea-anemone inventory; Durán-Fuentes and colleagues 2022: anemones in high-sedimentation habitats

Look-alikes and identification traps

Other anemones may also be partly buried. Record both the collar and tentacle arrangement. Recent taxonomic work on Actinostella reinforces the need for caution with identification from a single view.

Sources: González-Muñoz and colleagues 2016: Venezuelan sea-anemone inventory; 2026 Actinostella redescription and new-species study

Observe without disturbing

Keep fins and hands above the sand. Do not uncover the buried column, detach the animal or place a size marker against its tentacles; photograph its natural posture.

Sources: González-Muñoz and colleagues 2016: Venezuelan sea-anemone inventory

Harvest, protection and eating safety

Live-only collection; closed sites override

Verified listed-group live collection, not recreational food harvest and not a blanket protected-species designation.

This color is a qualified summary, not permission to collect or a guarantee that a particular animal is safe to eat.

Can it be hunted or harvested?

Actiniaria: distinct from prohibited Condylactis gigantea. Where lawful, land and maintain alive with adequate life support; five per species within 20 organisms daily, and ten within 40 in two-day possession. License requirements apply; recreational sale is prohibited.

Florida seasons and areas

No affirmative year-round season clearance is assigned. State marine-life requirements also apply in federal waters. Check the mapped site before any take. Blue Heron Bridge closes listed marine-life collection, not all county fishing. Biscayne prohibits ornamental collection without a superintendent permit and has a mapped March 1–May 31 fishing/possession closure effective in 2026, with a stowed continuous-transit exception. Pennekamp disallows tropical-fish collection and spearfishing. Key Largo Management Area prohibits tropical-fish take, marine-invertebrate take except specified lobster/stone-crab activities, and spearfishing. Sanctuary Preservation Areas prohibit fishing/collection except expressly stated exceptions. These are site rules, not whole-corridor bans.

Can it be speared?

Do not spear a live-only collection species. FWC allows specified nonlethal methods; no quinaldine. FWC restricts spearfishing near public swimming beaches, fishing piers/bridges, jetties and in state parks. The Long Key-north Monroe restriction concerns state waters; Key Largo Management Area has a separate prohibition. Federal location alone is not clearance.

Is it safe to eat?

Live-only collection is not recreational food harvest. No food-safety clearance, recipe or meal frequency is established. Consult current Florida Health guidance for the animal, capture site and consumer. A legal allowance does not establish that a catch is safe to eat. No dated species-matched local menu evidence was verified.

Actiniaria: distinct from prohibited Condylactis gigantea.

This review covers the Vero Beach–Key Largo Atlantic corridor: Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Florida Atlantic state waters and South Atlantic federal waters are distinct jurisdictions. Do not extend a state-water season tag to federal waters or transfer Atlantic rules to Gulf-side Keys waters. Park and sanctuary boundaries can override a species allowance.

Before you act: Confirm the species, date, exact management area, state or federal waters, gear, licenses and current local closures. A local occurrence record never grants permission to take an animal.

Official rules and health guidance

Reviewed 2026-11-11. Rules and advisories can change; check the linked authorities before acting.

Identification and source cautions

Species identification comes from the attributed diver photograph.
A 2026 revision redescribes A. flosculifera and adds a Yucatan congener; use up-to-date distinguishing characters when preparing the profile.
The local identification is the cited photographer or publisher’s identification; it has not been independently reidentified from a specimen.
Broad range or non-Florida research does not establish abundance, spawning dates or encounter probability at this Florida site.
Unverified species-specific details are identified in the relevant section rather than inferred from related animals.

Sources and review

Biology and taxonomy reviewed 2026-11-11. Photographs on cited sites are reference material and are not reproduced here.

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