Life in a rockpool
Featured here are just some of the amazing creatures you can find in rockpools within the UK.
Creatures that cling to rocks
Actinia equina – Beadlet anemone
I have a fat, round base that sticks to hard surfaces. From this I have a smooth stalk that holds up to 192 tentacles arranged in 6 circles. If I am disturbed I retract my tentacles and hide away. I am usually red, brown, green or orange in colour. I like to live in rock pools attached to hard surfaces.
Actinia fragacea - Strawberry anemone
I have a smooth column and look quite similar to a beadlet anemone. I am red-reddish-brown in colour with green spots that make me look like a strawberry, that’s how I got my name. I am quite fat in shape and can be as wide as 10cms. I like to live on rocks and stones on the lower shore.
Tealia felina - Dahlia anemone
I have a big fat base about 5cms wide, at my biggest I can grow up to 10cms wide. I am a very common anemone. The sides of my body are sticky and so often get covered in shells and bits of rocks. I have powerful stinging cells on my tentacles and so other creatures often avoid me. I am often found in crevices where waves are big. I am usually reddish in colour with green markings and grey tentacles containing red, white, green or blue bands.
Bunodactis verrucosa – Wartlet, Gem Anemone
My body surface is covered in rows of warts, this makes it quite rough. I am usually about 8cm wide and live attached to rocks on the middle and low shore. I like to live in rockpools where I won’t be disturbed. Like other anemones I have tentacles, although not as many as other species. I am greenish in colour.
Barnacles
I am often white or grey in colour. I have a soft body but am surrounded by a shell made up of plates. I like to live stuck to rocks, this stops me from losing water and helps me hide away from animals that might try and eat me. I feed by filtering zooplankton out of the water. You can often see me feeding when I am covered in water as I send out tentacles into the water.
Patella vulgata – Common Limpet
I have a pointy shell that can grow up to 6cms tall. I have a wide base that allows my foot to stick firmly to hard surfaces, such as rocks. This helps me to keep water inside my shell and hide from animals that might like to eat me. I am often a variety of colours, ranging from white, grey, yellow to dark greenish-grey. The colour of my shell often helps me camouflage with the surface I am living on. I eat using a rasping tongue, my favourite food is algae.
Buccinum undatum - Common Whelk
I have a short, stout shell about 12cm in height. My shell is marked with whorls. Extending out of my shell is a white foot this allows me to stick onto rocks. I am very common low down the shore on rocky and sandy beaches. I like to live in muddy sand or gravel. On the beach you can often find balls of dried egg masses that have been laid by whelks. I am usually greyish-white or brownish-white in colour.
Nucella lapillus – Dog whelk
I have a conical shell with spiral ridges and a short pointed spire. I am usually about 3cm in height, but can sometimes grow as big as 6cm. I can be many colours, from brown, grey, yellow or white. I live on the mid and low shore of rocky beaches. I am often found with barnacles and mussels, which I like to eat.
Mytilus edulis – Common Mussel
My shell is smooth but marked with circular lines and looks similar to a triangle in shape. I am often found in groups with other mussels on rocky beaches. I grow between 5-10cms in height. I am usually purple or blue in colour but sometimes brown. I live attached to rocks using byssuss threads, these help me stay on the rock when waves hit. I feed by suspension which means I filter the water around me.
Calliostoma zizyphinum – Painted top-shell
I have a conical shell with straight-sided whorls. I am usually about 3cm in height and 3cm wide. I vary in colour, but am often greyish-pink or yellow with red stripes, occasionally I can be all white. I am widely found low down on the shore on fairly sheltered rocky beaches. I am found attached to rocks and under stones. I like to eat microorganisms and detritus.
Asterina gibbosa – Cushion Starlet
I am small with five short fat arms. My upper surface is covered with short stiff spines. I like to stick to rocks and live under boulders low down on rocky beaches that are sheltered from the sea. I am often found in different colours depending where I live, my favourite colours are brown, green or orange.
Asterias rubens – Common Starfish
I am the most common starfish in this area. I have five long arms which turn upwards at the ends when I am active. I am usually 10-30cms wide but sometimes can reach up to 52cms. I like to stick to the surface of rocks or among seaweed. You can often see me moving around the tank, using little tube feet located underneath my body. I can be found in many different colours, but my favourites are orange, pale brown or violet. I like to feed on bivalves, such as mussels.
Creatures that hide
Pawsonia saxicola – Sea gherkin
I have smooth skin, which is covered with little button like lumps. I can grow up to 15cms in length. I like to live hidden in gaps between rocks and under boulders. I am white in colour but I get darker when I am in the light. I have little tubes attached to my body called tube feet; these help me to move around. They are found along my body arranged in rows. I feed using 10 black tentacles found around my mouth; these can grow to 10cm in length.
Pagurus bernhardus - Common Hermit Crab
I am usually 2.5-10cms in length. I have a soft body but no hard shell of my own to protect it. I like to live in empty shells found on the beach to help protect my body. These are usually empty common whelk and netted dog whelk shells. Sometimes I have other creatures growing on top of my shell, such as hydroids and anemones. I am usually found in rock pools. I am red, brown or yellow in colour. I scavenge for food but also filter the water around me.
Porcellana platycheles - Broad-clawed Porcelain Crab
I have a round carapace (this is the name of my shell found on my back), about 10cms wide. I have two very hairy front claws and very small back legs. I like to live under stones on the middle and the low shore. I feed by suspension.
Cancer pagurus - Edible Crab
I am usually quite wide and can reach more than 20cms across. My carapace has three small lobes found between my eyes and about 10 round lobes on my margins, making my outline look like a ‘pie-crust’ in appearance. I like to live in rock pools and on gravel bottoms. I like to live under rocks and buried in the sand on the low shore. I am reddish-brown in colour. I like to eat lots of things, but mussels are my favourite.
Carcinus maenus – Shore Crab
My carapace is 2.5-10cms in width. I am the commonest crab found on the beach. I like to live near the water so as I am not left uncovered by the sea for a long time. I like to eat all sorts of things; I am quite strong and can force open mussel shells using my pincers. I am usually dark green to reddish orange in colour. When I am small I often have white patches on my body.
Galathea squamifera – Squat Lobster
I am a common intertidal squat lobster and can grow to 5cms wide. I like to live under stones low down on the shore near to the water. I have long front legs and a weak pair of pincers. Unlike other lobsters I am found on the beach. I am greenish-brown in colour and sometimes have red markings. I feed by suspension, filtering the water I live in.
Necora puber - Velvet Swimming Crab
I have red eyes found on the edge of my shell. My shell is hairy and usually about 8cms in length. I have two quite large pincers and can give you a nasty nip. I am found on the low shore and in shallow water. I am usually reddish- brown in colour. I am found on rocky shores, living in rock pools at low water. I like to feed on large brown algae, although when I’m small I like to eat barnacles and small crabs.
Creatures that swim
Archidoris pseudargus - Sea lemon
I am a sea slug. I have a warty looking body, and am often called a ‘Warty Doris’. On one side of my body I have two tentacles, on the other I have a ring of gills that I use for breathing. I am found among rocks in deep water but travel up the beach in summer to lay eggs. I am usually yellow in colour and about 6cms in length. I am usually found living near my favourite food the breadcrumb sponge.
Pholis gunnellus - Butterfish
I have a long body and am very slippery and hard to catch. I have very small scales along my body, a long dorsal fin and shorter anal and pelvic fins. I am usually 15-17cm long but can sometimes grow as big as 25cm.I am brownish in colour with dark patches and have approximately 12 black spots ringed with white along my body. I feed on a wide variety of invertebrates. I am commonly found in shallow water among rocks and under seaweed and stones.
Scyliorhinus caniculus - Lesser spotted dogfish
I am quite slim in shape, with pointed ventral fins. I grow between 60-80cms in length when fully grown. I like to live in water, 10-85metres in depth that contains sand banks and algal growth. I am usually most active at night, this is when I hunt. I like to eat small fish, crustaceans and molluscs. I am usually yellow, white and brown in colour with black spots. The eggs I lay are called mermaids purse. These are long and narrow and are often yellow or light brown in colour. These attach to objects using threads.
Taurulus bubalis - Long Spined Sea-Scorpion
I have a short body with two dorsal fins. I have large pectoral fins and pelvic fins that have three long rays attached. My head is broad and I have spines on my operculum. I can reach up to 17cms in length. I feed on many invertebrates and small fishes. I like to live in seaweed on rocky shores as I can camouflage and hide from larger fish. I am varied in colour from greenish-brown to red.
Lepadogaster lepadogaster - Shore Cling-fish
I have a flattened body with continuous dorsal, tail and anal fins. I have a broad head marked with two blue spots. I am usually 8cm in length. My mouth is shaped like a ducks beak and allows me to cling on to rocks; this is how I got my name. I am carnivorous and feed on lots of rocky shore invertebrates. I am found in rock pools or on seaweed covered beaches. I am reddish-brown in colour.