Critter Guide (2)

Sea Shore Bingo!
See how many of these you can find. Tick them
off as you go!
Seashore Code
How to Explore the Shore
Check the
Weather!
Do you need a rain coat? … Or Sunscreen?
Watch your step —
Don’t step on animals!
Always put animals and rocks
back where you found them.
It is their home!
1
2
Only have one or maybe two
animals in your bucket, they
may not get along and hurt
each other.
Draw a picture of your favourite tidepool
The Crabs
Draw a picture of your favourite tidepool animal
Crabs are crustaceans. Crustaceans all have a hard outer shell to protect
them from predators. They also have multiple limbs which are used for
different things like walking or grabbing things! They have to shed this outer
shell to grow, this is called moulting. You can sometimes find the moults from
crabs in tidepools and on the beach
The Velvet Swimming Crab.
This crab can swim through the
water using it’s paddle like back
legs. It also has red eyes and it
sometimes called the Devil Crab
How many did you see?
_________________________
The Shore Crab
This is a very common crab in the
tidepools, it likes to hide under
the rocks. Make sure you put it
back under the same rock!
How many did you see?
_________________________
The Edible Crab
This a large and stocky crab with big
claws! Be careful picking this one up.
From the top it looks like pie so it does
sometimes get called the Pasty Crab!
Other Life on the Rocks
Serrated Wrack
How many did you see?
There are lots of different seaweeds on
the seashore. This one is easy to
recognise by the jagged edges to it
leaves or fronds
_________________________
Sea Lettuce
The Furrowed Crab
You may find this crab asleep under
rocks as it is mainly active at night! If
you spot this one, make sure it is left
undisturbed as it is resting! It will
wake up when it’s dark to graze on
seaweed.
This seaweed doesn’t like to
be out of the water so look for
it in the tidepools. It really
does look like lettuce!
Dulse
How many did you see?
_________________________
Not all seaweed is green! Some is
brown and some, like Dulse, is a lovely
red colour. Animals like to hide under
seaweed so lifting it gently is a good
way to see tidepool creatures
The Fish!
The Hermit Crab
This little crab doesn’t make
a very good shell of its own,
instead it uses snail shells
that have been left behind.
How many did you see?
_________________________
The Common Blenny
This fish loves to live under the seaweed and rocks in the
tidepools. It is fast and difficult to catch! Try just watching it
for a while to see where it goes. Blennies don’t have scales
like other fish, they have a soft skin covering their bodies.
This sift skin is covered in a mucus slime and it allows they to
slip into small spaces to stay safe. This slimy skin also allows
the Blenny to survive out of water for a short time. What an
amazing tidepool fish!
How many did you see?
_________________________
Common Prawn
This isn’t a crab but it is still a crustacean! Remember, crustacean means
it can moult its shell to grow bigger. Prawns like to hide under rocks but
are very quick to move out of the way if disturbed. Try being very quiet
and watching the prawns swim around their tidepools
How many did you see?
_________________________
Animals Living on the Rocks
There are other animals that live on the rocks, some of these are the molluscs. Molluscs have a very soft body and most are protected by hard
shells. They live in the rockpools and graze on seaweed at high tide. At low
tide, they either clamp themselves to the rocks or close off their shell with
little doors to make sure they don’t dry out. All molluscs have a special
tooth called a radula, each is shaped to eat different foods.
Other animals on the rocks don’t have shells but have tentacles or lots of
arms! See how many you can find!
Periwinkle
Limpets
Limpets use their radula to graze on the algae
growing on the rocks at high tide. At low tide,
they have a spot on the rocks which they always
return to. This is called a ‘home scar’ and is worn
into the shape of the outside edge of their shell.
Look for home scars as well as limpets!
How many did you see?
_________________________
Periwinkles are common around the tidepools
and you will often see lots of them all sitting
together! If you look at the bottom of the
shell, you may see the little door (operculum)
How many did you see?
Cusion starfish
This little starfish can be tiny and is often found
on the bottoms of the rocks you lift up in the
tidepools. Always look at the bottoms rocks
themselves to see what might be hiding on
there
How many did you see?
_________________________
_________________________
Dogwhelk
These molluscs are sometimes seen around
the tidepools. They are very good predators
and use their radula to make holes in limpet
shells and dissolve their prey inside
Beadlet anemone
This is an animal! It is related to jellyfish and
can sting. It’s a very gentle sting though,
you won’t feel it but it will feel sticky. Best
not to poke this one!
How many did you see?
How many did you see?
_________________________
_________________________