2011-06-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

ROCKY SHORES

Animals have an amazing array of body shapes that adapt them to life on the rocky shore. To prevent drying out, some animals have “doors” that close, trapping water inside. To resist the force of waves, some have a large, strong foot with which they grip the rock. Others glue them-selves permanently to the rocky shores.

To feed, animals have developed a variety of methods. Most animals living in a shell feed directly on the surface of the rock, scraping off the microscopic plants found there with their conveyor belt like tongue called a radula.

Permanently attached animals must rely on the rising tide to bring food to them. Others feed by kicking plankton into their mouths with hairy appendages.

OCTOPUS

Octopus are classed as Cephalopods, which in Greek means “head-foot”, in reference to the tentacles which appear to be joined directly to the head. Octopuses are able to secrete a thick, dark brown ink which is used for defense as it confuses its attacker and allows the octopus to escape. They are also able to undergo rapid colour change to display a range of moods or create perfect camouflage against any background. Amazingly, they possess large brains and are thought to be at the pinnacle of invertebrate intelligence with an eye structure almost as complex as that of a human!

HERMIT CRABS

Hermit crabs scurry around the inter-tidal zone of many aquatic habitats reefs, mangroves, mud flats and rocky shores. Hermit crabs live in abandoned sea snail shells which protect their soft abdomens. Their abdomens are generally lop-sided and twisted to fit the shape of the shells. As a hermit crab grows it needs to find larger and larger shells. Shell collecting can create a shortage of suitable shells.

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