Red Beadlet Anenome - Actinia Equina A rather grand name and an entirely underrated creature! At least, in my view. These delightful (not to mention fighting fit!) rather insignificant to look at when out of the sea, (being, when all said and done 'Blobs' of jelly-like substance) little chapesses have a rather interesting (to some) life First, they reproduce by parthogenesis. So - no nooky there then! ^=^ Some believe that rather than self fertilization, bits of the mother anenome actually break off from her insides to become new baby anenomes!! And that isn't all! They live and reproduce this way for 50 years and more! That is an awfully long time to spend alone, disgorging occasionally a few hundred offspring. And disgorge is right. One fine morning they look down at their rather swollen and distended tum and think - in anenome language ''I'm fat! Time to slim down a bit'' - then whoosh! Out go young replicas of their mother, into the unknown! So not only is being a lone parent tough, it's no picnic for their newly born either. And I thought Salmon got the rough end of the stick! Predators, their food is anything that isn't them! Crabs, mussels, worms, small crustaceans, larvae and any bits of larger crustaceans that have died and happen by their mouthy bits. They are territorial and will fight other anenomes near their patch and for this purpose they use their acrorhagi which are present at the top of the column underneath the tentacles and which contain stinging cells. Hmm. Now I completely get the 'no nooky' thing! ^=^ Other than that, they come in different colours. Like smarties! Only not so many. Green, red and brown - of varying shades. Some also, whilst in the sea, have blue blobs of colour. There's nothing like a bit of colour to cheer a girl up! ^=^ So - that's the Beadlet Anenome! Mussels - Mastocarpus Stellatus One of my all time favourite chaps - and chapesses and I don't mean as in served up on a bed of rice Mussels are the most common bivalves on Cornish beaches. Sedentary, they fix themselves to rock by byssal threads, produced as tough chitinous threads, liquid in nature, which then set in water. Filter feeders, they require a great deal of seawater to pass through their systems in order to get enough food to survive. This is one of the reasons pollution, organic or inorganic (metals), if ingested, remains in their flesh. If eaten by some unsuspecting person this can have devastating consequences. This problem isn't just manmade. Seasonal algae blooms filtered in concentrated amounts can also cause death. They're tough too. Not only needing to survive on exposed beaches being buffeted by waves but also because they live in the intertidal zone. This means they need to survive being exposed to the air by the receding tide. This priority is achieved by their clever use of valves which traps water within. This not only reduces desiccation, but also protects them against the bird life. As I mentioned yesterday, Dog Whelks are one of the main predators of Mussels. One often comes across Mussels with tiny bore holes where the Whelks have fed. However, it doesn't always mean instant death for the Mussel. They will, if possible, have enough time to attach a byssal thread onto the Dog Whelks shell. This might or might not save it, but the Whelk is the trapped and eventually it will starve to death! Poetic justice eh! On a personal note, I find the colours of Mussels stupendous! From the darkest black to the gold, platinum and silver; solid colour, or striped with purple and orange bands...they truly are a wonderful sight right now. The two seaweeds herein are Sea Lettuce, a most beautiful and vibrant green shore decoration and the tiny strands, top right of centre, is Irish Moss - I think. Not quite sure of the latter. Thank you for taking the time to look. ^=^