Green Shore Crab (Carcinus maenas)

Dark green in colour, these crabs are usually found under stones and in pools and are the most common crabs on our coastline. They will scavenge for food but also eat shrimps, worms, mussels and various other shelled animals which they break with their powerful claws. The edge of the crab’s shell is serrated with teeth-like points, that help distinguish them from other species.

Edible Crab (Cancer pagurus)

Reddish brown in colour, this species has an oval shaped body with pie-crust edge to it and large, black-tipped claws. It uses these extremely powerful claws to crush the shells of animals it preys upon. This crab is caught by fishermen and gets its name because it is nice to eat. Males tend to have larger claws than the female.

Velvet Swimming Crab (Necora puber)

This crab gets its name because its shell is covered with short hairs which give it a velvet-like appearance and because their back pair of legs are flattened to form swimming paddles. It is also known as the Devil crab as it has distinctive bright red eyes and a nasty nip! This species can move very fast, which allows it to catch and eat small fish.

Hermit Crab (Pagarus bernhardus)

Unlike other species of crab such as the edible and green shore crab, hermit crabs don’t have a hard shell to protect them. Instead they use empty sea snail shells to protect their soft body parts and juicy bottoms from predators! As they grow in size they “move house” to a bigger shell.

Squat Lobster (Galathea squamifera)

Although these creature are called a “lobsters”, they are more closely related to crabs. Their body is always longer than it is wide, reaching a maximum length of 10cm. They use the long claws to catch their prey and sit on tops of rocks and corals grabbing small fish and creatures as they swim by.

Broad Clawed Porcelain Crab

This very small crab can be recognised by its large, flattened hairy claws. Its body reaches an average width of 1-2cm. These are very fragile crabs hence their name “Porcelain” and will often shed their legs if in danger! The claws are not used for feeding, instead they use long feather-like structures to filter small animals from the water much like a fishing net. Their claws are mainly used to defend their territory and to cling onto rocks to stop themselves from being washed away by the tide.

Common Limpet (Patella vulgata)

Limpets can be found between high and low water marks on rocky coasts throughout the UK. They have a strong muscular foot which allows them to hold on tightly to rocks. At low tide, the limpet will clamp its shell down tight, to prevent itself from losing water and drying out. This also stops them from being pulled off the rocks birds and other predators. When the tide is in, the limpets move over the rocks and use a rough tongue (radula) to feed on algae.

Barnacles

Also found between the tide marks, barnacles can be found attached to different surfaces on the seashore, including man made structures like piers and even the hulls of ships. After spending their young lives in the plankton, they settle on the sea bed head first! The barnacle remains there for the rest of its life where it grows armoured plates to protect its body. It feeds using its feathery legs, which it uses to catch plankton from the sea water.

Topshells

Topshells look just like the snails that live in our gardens and they are found all along the British coast. Sea snails can breathe in water, whereas land snails cannot. They graze the surface of rocks feeding on fine layers of algae. There are more than 70 species of topshells found in European waters. The colour of their shells can vary greatly from yellow to red and white stripes!

Common Prawn (Leander serratus)

Common prawns look like very small lobsters and are the cleaners of rockpools. They make sure that nothing goes to waste by eating the scraps of other animal’s meals! Their see through body and striped pattern, camouflage them perfectly from predators and make them well adapted for rock pool life. They only turn pink when you cook them! The easiest way to tell the difference between a prawn and a shrimp, is that prawns wear football socks and shrimps have spots!

Rock Goby (Gobius paganellus)

Gobies are small fish which are recognised by their thick lips and large bulbous eyes. They have specialised fins on the underside of their body which join together to form a sucker. This allows the fish to cling onto rocks and stops it being washed away by the waves and currents. The fin on its back (dorsal fin) is divided into two. They feed on a variety of small animals including shrimps, worms and small crabs.

Common Blenny (Lipophrys pholis)

Like the rock goby, the blenny has large eyes and thick lips and lives in the same environment. The Blenny however has a continuous dorsal fin on the top of its body, whereas the goby’s fin is split into two. This is the best way of telling the difference between the two fish. Blennies feed on small animals within rock pools and occasionally on seaweeds as well.

Beadlet Anemone (Actinia equina)

This species is the most common anemone found in the rock pools. It is capable of closing up and bringing its tentacles inside its body which enables it to store water, and this stops it from drying out when exposed at low tide. Its tentacles are poisonous and are used to help it catch food and to protect itself from predators. It gets it name from the blue beads that can be seen around the edge of its tentacles.

Snakelock Anemone (Anemonia viridis)

The Snakelock Anemone is found lower down on the shore, as it cannot withdraw its tentacles like the beadlet anemone and would therefore dry up quickly when out of water. It can have around 200 individual tentacles which are poisonous, like the beadlet anemone, and are used for protection and feeding. It is also called the Medusa after the Greek legend of the women with a head of snakes!

Common Starfish (Asterias rubens)

Starfish are related to sea urchins as they too have tube feet which they use to move. The starfish however, does not have a rigid skeleton but a toughened thick skin that protects it. It feeds on animals like mussels and clams and will arch over its prey and then open the shell with its tube feet. It then pushes its stomach into the shell, where it will then eat its meal.

Wrasse

On rare occasions young wrasse can be found stranded in rock pools after the tide has gone out. Wrasses live in and around rocks and will lie on their sides against the rocks when resting. Its mouth has thick lips with strong teeth which help it to crush shells and small crabs that live amongst the rocks. They almost look like tropical fish with their beautiful colours!

Common Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)

Cuttlefish are related to the octopus and squid in our seas today and also to the extinct ammonites and belemnites of the past. The cuttlefish bone which can be commonly found on the beach, is the animal’s internal skeleton and aids buoyancy. The cuttlefish itself is found in deeper water and is a perfect predator using its excellent vision and suckered tentacles to catch its prey. Its diet consists of animals like crabs, prawns and fish.

Pink Sea Fan (Eunicella verrucosa)

The Pink Sea Fan is a protected species due to its dwindling numbers although they can still be found off the coast of Lyme Regis. Sea fans are long-lived and slow growing and their numbers are strongly affected if they are removed or damaged by human activities. Trawling for fish and scallops by fishermen has been shown to be putting the animals at risk and is a major factor contributing to them becoming endangered.

Sunset Coral ( Leptopsammia pruvoti)

This slow growing solitary coral like the Pink Sea Fan is highly vulnerable to disturbances. It can live for over 100 years but reproduces very infrequently, hence it being another endangered species. It can be found well below the low water mark, attached to shady rock faces and overhangs, sometimes occuring in groups of up to several hundred.