Radianthus doreensis

Identification: few long, tapering, often curling tentacles, brown, yellowish, white or purple, often striped lengthwise; the disc, up to 50 cm, then shows white radial “zebra” stripes. The best field mark: light, white, round to oval (eye-shaped), non-sticky verrucae in rows on the upper, purplish-brown column; the buried lower column is dull orange to bright red. Radianthus crispa has sticky verrucae the same colour as the column and many more tentacles; R. malu has short tentacles; Heteractis aurora has beaded tentacles.

In the wild it settles in sand pockets on reefs or on nearby sand flats, often in mud, and is frequently found without fish. When disturbed it withdraws completely into the sediment; its tentacles shrivel, or stick to a hand and tear off. Only sexual reproduction is known, with no aggregations. First placed in Macrodactyla, then Heteractis (2023), it has been placed in Radianthus since 2024 because it lacks the macrobasic nematocysts of Heteractis.

Status: not evaluated by the IUCN, not CITES-listed; Quality Marine calls it common in the trade. Fautin and Allen advise against collecting host anemones, which are replaced slowly in the wild.