The species name refers to the short pointed tentacles round the edge of the disc which resemble the sharp teeth of certain fish.

The disc is fawn and is slightly concave with an enlarged margin and clearly marked, black radii.

The two specimens first described by Philip Henry Gosse in 1858 were found at Weymouth and Torquay, England, the first one growing on an oyster shell.

[2] Like other sea anemones, S. ichthystoma is carnivorous and feeds on small invertebrates which it catches with its tentacles and channels into its mouth.

If disturbed, it can emit sticky threads called acontia, armed with nematocysts, as a defence mechanism.