Beadlet Anemone

A sea anemone found on rocky shores across northern and western Europe, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast of Africa as far as South Africa, Australia and East Asian coasts. Underwater it displays up to 192 tentacles arranged in six circles, while out of water it contracts into what looks like a blob of red, brown, green or orange jelly roughly five centimeters across, with a ring of bright blue beads called acrorhagi visible beneath the tentacles. It lives in exposed and sheltered intertidal zones, tolerating high temperatures, desiccation and variable salinity, and occurs alone or in clusters, with larger individuals usually found in the water at low tide where food is easier to reach.