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Meaning of actinian in English:

actinian

Pronunciation /akˈtɪnɪən/

noun

Zoology

  • A sea anemone.

    ‘However, actinians, like all coelenterates, capture and digest animal prey with their nematocysts.’
    • ‘Even on reefs, most species of host actinians are inconspicuous, unlike their partner fish.’
    • ‘The larger, more conspicuous include other species of cold-water coral, actinians and sponges.’
    • ‘Cold-water coral mound dominated by Lophelia pertusa and colonised by orange actinians and a white anthipathrian.’
    • ‘It has been seen that varying temperatures have a dramatic effect on the growth rates of some actinians.’

Origin

Mid 19th century from actinia ‘sea anemone’ (from the modern Latin genus name Actinia, from Greek aktis, aktin- ‘ray’) + -an.