@littoral.guernsey: Snakelocks Anemone. Anemonia viridis is common around Guernsey’s rocky shores, getting its name from its long, snake-like tentacles. Unlike many other anemones, it rarely retracts them, although they can shorten and curl in response to disturbance. Its green colour comes partly from microscopic algae living within its tissues. These algae photosynthesise, providing the anemone with nutrients in exchange for shelter and access to sunlight. The purple tips are produced by pigments within the anemone itself. While it may appear delicate, the snakelocks is a predator. Its tentacles contain thousands of microscopic stinging structures called nematocysts, used to capture small fish and crustaceans. Contact with its tentacles can also cause a painful sting in humans. Although it has no brain, the anemone possesses a simple nervous system called a nerve net, allowing it to sense its surroundings and coordinate its tentacles. Much of their movement is caused by currents, but the anemone can actively curl and contract them to capture prey and respond to disturbance. Some animals, including the snakelocks shrimp, have adapted to live among its tentacles. Snakelocks reproduce both sexually, through eggs and sperm, and asexually through longitudinal fission, effectively splitting lengthways into two genetically identical individuals. Each regenerates its missing structures, meaning a cluster of anemones on the same rock may actually be clones of a single original animal.

Littoral Guernsey

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Thursday 29 October 2026 04:43:53 GMT