Science Visualized Life

Here’s how sea anemones launch their venomous stingers

The projectiles fire, turn inside out and hurl a barbed thread at prey

image of a starlet sea anemone

The starlet sea anemone can rapidly fire stingers from its many tentacles.

Matt Gibson

By Meghan Rosen

- More than 2 years ago

A new look at the starlet sea anemone’s stinger gets right to the point. 

Live-animal images and 3-D computer reconstructions have revealed the complex architecture of the tiny creature’s needlelike weapons. Like