For more information on the habitat, vegetation, and weather of this beach, please see the journal entry for May 13, 2012 here on iNaturalist. These little anemones were in groups buried in the sand all over the beach. It was odd to me because I had only ever seen them living on rocks, not in the sand. A few of them, like the one in the second picture, had their tentacles out, which were light green with pink tips. Each anemone was about an inch across and the one in the picture was one of only a few that was on its own, the rest were in large groups. Occasionally, they would squirt water at me from surprisingly great distances.
These small anemone (3-5cm across) completely cover the sandy areas of Mee Kwa Mooks. The two pictures included depict anemones from farther up the beach (furthest from the water) and others nearer the water. The anemone higher up on the beach are consistently covered in bits of shell, while the ones closer to the water are quite exposed. It seems that the bits of shell must be an adaptation to the greater exposure high up the shore- more time under the sun and in the open air. The bits of brilliant white hell would efficiently deflect UV rays from the delicate anemone. I am guessing that these are aggregating anemones, which means that they are clones of each other.
Anthopleura is a genus of intertidal sea anemones, of the family Actiniidae.
