The New Childrens Encyclopedia

O

Width 10–14 in (25–35 cm)

O

Location Northern hemisphere coastal waters

The dahlia anemone’s colorful,

flowerlike body grows attached

to a rock or other hard surface.

The tentacles bear tiny

stinging cells that

paralyse small

animals. Food

caught this

way is passed

to the mouth.

Dahlia anemone

Urticina felina

O

Length 2 in (5 cm)
O

Location Western Pacific Ocean

Sea slugs, also known as nudibranchs,

are shell-less relatives of snails. They

are carnivorous and hunt by gliding

through coral reefs in search of prey

that cannot escape, such

as sponges,

barnacles,

and

corals.

Sea slug

Chromodoris kuniei

O

Width Up to 6½ ft (2 m)

O

Location Cool northern seas

Named for the mass

of brown frills on

its central arms, the

lion’s mane jelly is

common in northern

seas and is often washed

ashore in storms. Jellyfish lack

any kind of brain, but their simple

design has been successful for

500 million years.

Lion’s mane jellyfish

Cyanea capillata

O

Length 24–40 in (60–100 cm)

O

Location European coasts

This powerful

cousin of shrimp

and crabs lurks

in rocky lairs by

day, emerging at

night to hunt smaller invertebrates

and fish using its sensitive antennae

and large claws. Like other

crustaceans, lobsters must shed their

rigid body armor in order to grow.

European lobster

Homarus gammarus

O

Height Up to 24 in (61 cm)

O

Location Tropical seas

Sponges are among the simplest of

animals. Yellow tube sponges have a

chimney-shaped body supported by

a flexible skeleton made of protein.

Some other species

may have more

rigid skeletal parts.

Water is drawn in

through pores

in the tube.

Yellow tube sponge

Aplysina fistularis

O

Size Up to 10 ft (3 m) across

O

Location Caribbean Sea

This brittle structure is not a single

animal, but a colony of thousands, all

growing on a stony base that they

build themselves. Each tiny coral

animal, or polyp, has a simple

bag shape, with a mouth at the

top surrounded by

tiny tentacles.

Elkhorn coral

Acropora palmata

O

Width 2½-3 in (6–8 cm)

O

Location Indian and Pacific Oceans

Ghost crabs live on sandy beaches,

where they feed on organic matter

washed up by the tide. They scuttle

and burrow at such speed that they

sometimes seem to disappear.

Horned ghost crab

Ocypode ceratophthalmus

O

Diameter Up to 12 in

(30 cm)

O

Location Indian Ocean

Like most starfish, the

red general is a slow-

moving predator. It creeps over reefs

and rocks on hundreds of tiny,

suckered, tube feet, hunting small

clams, tubeworms, sponges, and other

fixed invertebrates. It feeds by

covering the prey with its body and

pushing its stomach out through its

mouth (in the middle of the star).

Red general starfish

Protoreaster linckii

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