Head to head
Beadlet Anemone vs Snakelocks Anemone
Beadlet Anemone
VS Snakelocks Anemone
The beadlet anemone and snakelocks anemone are two common anemones of rock pools on European shores that look very different.
| Beadlet Anemone | Snakelocks Anemone | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Actinia equina | Anemonia viridis |
| Tentacles | Pulls its tentacles in at low tide, closing into a smooth jelly-like dome | Has long, wavy, snake-like tentacles that cannot be pulled fully inside |
| Colour | Usually red, but can be green, brown, or orange, with a ring of blue beads below the tentacles | Grey-green, with purple tips to the tentacles |
| Defining feature | Uses blue beads called acrorhagi, containing stinging cells, to attack neighbouring anemones that are not clones of itself | Houses tiny algae in its tissues, which give it its green colour and provide extra food from sunlight |
| Reproduction | Broods its young inside its body and releases them as tiny anemones | Reproduces by dividing in two, so a single anemone can form a patch of clones |
| Habitat | Rocks on the middle and upper shore, where it survives being left high and dry between tides | Rock pools and shallow rocky seas in bright light |
| Range | Rocky shores and rock pools of the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean | The northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and becoming more common on the coasts of Britain and Ireland as the seas warm |
| Conservation status | Not Evaluated globally, though abundant on rocky shores | Not Evaluated globally, though increasing in parts of its northern range |
Beadlet Anemone vs Snakelocks Anemone: common questions
Which anemone fights its neighbours?
The beadlet anemone, which uses its blue beads to attack neighbouring anemones that are not clones of itself.
Why is the snakelocks anemone green?
It houses tiny algae inside its tissues, which give it its green colour and provide extra food from sunlight.
Which one gives birth to live young?
The beadlet anemone, which broods its young inside its body and releases them as tiny anemones.