Beadlet anemones are a common sight on the rocky shore of the UK, resembling small blobs of jelly that may be red, brown, green, or orange in colour. The base of their body acts like a sucker to secure them in place on rocks.

Behaviour

Out of the water, these anemones look like dark red jelly blobs. When underwater (when the tide goes out), and undisturbed, they release their 192 tentacles, arranged in 6 circles, armed with stinging cells to catch any nearby animal that is small enough to eat, such as crabs, shrimp and small fish.

Size

Up to 5 cm in diameter

Status

Common

Distribution

They are found attached to rocks, most commonly in the upper and lower shoreline area.

When to see

All year round

Facts

• Their extreme aggression to neighbouring anemones can result in fights that last for days, using their many tentacles to aggressively fight off other anemones until they crawl away or drop off their rock.