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Snakelocks anemone
It is a species of sea anemones. It is about 10cm high and 6cm in diameter, but it is very variable (soft body).
It is very common in the Portuguese West Coast. Usually are attached to the rocks and can be seen in low tide.
Thanks for you expert input João Pedro Silva. I certainly slipped up checking the distribution.
This is probably the most common anemone along the portuguese coast, Anemonia viridis. The can be found even 30 meters deep in spite of relying (partially) on the zooxanthellae, and that's why they're most common near the surface alongside Actinia fragacea and Actinia equina. Mark Ridgway's suggestion of Anthopleura elegantissima would be adequate for the NE Pacific but this spotting was on the NE Atlantic.
Aggregating anemone - Anthopleura elegantissima ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregating...
David, this is a very interesting spotting but could you please tell us where you spotted these, their size and anything else interesting about the spotting/experience. This would make the spotting complete. Thanks.