About Aulactinia veratra (Drayton, 1846)
Aulactinia veratra, commonly called the green snakelock anemone, has an average height of around 20 mm (0.8 in), though fully extended individuals in some regions can reach 60 mm (2.4 in). Its broad column features rows of verrucae, which are wart-like outgrowths, that hold adhered coarse sand grains and shell fragments. The oral disc has a central mouth, surrounded by a ring of 24 to 124 long, tapering tentacles that end in blunt tips. When expanded, both the column and tentacles are most commonly green, though some individuals are brown or red. When retracted, with the oral disc and tentacles pulled inside the body cavity, green individuals can appear black. This anemone is distributed in shallow seas around the west, south, and east coasts of Australia, Tasmania, and both main islands of New Zealand. It lives in the intertidal zone, occurring in rock pools, under overhangs, between boulders, and within crevices. Its base attaches firmly to rocky substrate, even when it resides in a rock pool that appears fully covered in sand. It often grows in close proximity to the sand anemone.
