Although many low-valent (III, IV) actinide (An) ions are known to form coordination complexes with the α-2 isomer of the lacunary Wells−Dawson polyoxoanion, [P 2 W 17 O 61 ] 10− , there is little structural information about the An−O interactions, particularly in solution. We have probed the An−O coordination environment for the series of clusters [An(α-2-P 2 W 17 O 61 ) 2 ] n− with An 4+ (Th 4+ , U 4+ , Np 4+ , Pu 4+ ) and An 3+ (Np 3+ , Pu 3+ , Am 3+ ) in both solution and solid phases using Xray absorption fine structure (XAFS). Comparisons are made with the lanthanide (Ln) coordination environments in the series of 4f-ion clusters, [Ln n+ (α-2-P 2 W 17 O 61 ) 2 ] n−20 , and with the related monovacant Lindqvist anions, [Ln n+ (W 5 O 18 ) 2 ] n−12 , 2663 for n = 3, 4. The average An−O 8 and Ln−O 8 distances correlate with their cationic VIII-coordinate ionic radii, indicating that the An and Ln ions have indistinguishable coordination behavior. Metrical details are consistent with simple charge and size considerations for both trivalent and tetravalent An ions as well as Ln ions coordinated with α-2-[P 2 W 17 O 61 ] 10− and [W 5 O 18 ] 6− . This result is contrasted to trends established for these f-ions coordinated to the Preyssler anion [Ln n+ P 5 W 30 O 110 ] n−15 .