![]() They usually have five arms and can grow to be up to 14” across. These animals can actually be orange or brown in addition to their namesake color. ![]() Look for them feeding underwater, using their legs (or cirri) to sweep up plankton. These shrimp-like animals are housed in hard shells attached to rocks and other hard surfaces and can be up to ¾” in diameter. If you’re lucky, you may see a hermit crab walking below the surface of a tide pool! Find them by gently picking up snail shells and looking for the crab’s legs protruding from within. As they grow, they move into larger shells. These small, up-to-1½” crustaceans use empty snail shells for their homes. It’s fine to gently touch (and you may get squirted!) but pulling on a geoduck’s neck may kill the animal and end its up-to-150-year lifespan. If you happen to see what looks like a pile of soft, white noodles nearby, those are shaggy mouse eggs!įirst things first: do you know how to pronounce the second word in this animal’s name? It’s gooey-duck, go figure! The only part of this giant clam that you’ll see at the beach is the top of its neck, which can exceed 3’ (!!), extending about an inch above the surface of the sand. It’s a lucky day at the beach if you spot one of these sea slugs, resembling a wet mouse and coming in at about the same size: up to 2¾” long. Although their shells come in a variety of colors, they’re all the same species. These tiny (up to 5/8” wide), spiral-shelled snails are found on rocks and barnacles in eelgrass, seaweed or on rocky shores. Moon snails themselves may be harder to spot-even though they’re among the largest intertidal snails. ![]() Their shell width can be up to 2¾”.Įver seen what looked like a gray toilet plunger on the beach and wondered what it was? It’s a moon snail egg collar, composed of up to 500,000 eggs, sand and mucous. Another way that they’re unique is that, unlike most limpets, they’re primarily carnivores. This mollusk with the volcano-shaped shell even has a hole on top like a volcano on Earth does! This is a unique feature in limpet species. Their small size belies their cool superpower: they have an internal compass that allows them to navigate at night! Those mollusks can grow to be up to 3” long and get their names from the soft bristles on their perimeter. It’s fine (and fun!) to gently touch them with one wet finger. Look for them attached to rocks they’re about 2” in diameter. These beautiful animals look like undersea flowers-and they get their names because they can clone themselves and form masses (or aggregations). Puzzled about exactly what you might be looking at? You’re not alone! So here’s a head start: in no particular order, 10 of the incredible animals commonly found in the intertidal zone. And, better yet, we’ve got some upcoming low-tide days that will offer the perfect opportunity to explore the intertidal zone-the strip of land between high and low tide-to discover the amazing creatures that live there. Here in the Puget Sound region, we’re so fortunate to have miles of beaches to explore while maintaining the physical distancing that protects everyone’s health.
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