About

Snakelocks anemones live attached to rocks on the low shore and in shallow seas down to about 12m. They have a squat brownish body and the long, wavy, snake-like tentacles that give them their name. These tentacles are normally bright green with purple tips and are home to a kind of algae which produces energy from sunlight. As such snakelocks anemones live in the sunniest spots on the shore and unlike other anemones, they rarely retract their tentacles in order to make the most of the sunlight. In addition to the energy captured from the photosynthetic algae, they use their long stinging tentacles to capture prey such as prawns, small fish and sea snails.