The jellyfish is also called the medusa.Jellyfish Coral Octopus Crabs Sea Horse Starfish Sea Turtle
Jellyfish
The jellyfish is also called the medusa.
Jellyfish range in size from very small (the size of a pea) to about seven feet in diameter.
They get their name from the jelly-like material that makes up their body.
Their mouth is a short tube that hangs down from the center of the body.
Tentacles hang down from the edges of the body. These serve as protection from other animals and also help them catch their food.
Coral is a formation in the sea made of millions of tiny animals.
Each type of coral has its own unique appearance. Some look like trees, antlers, or just crusty globs.
Corals grow in many different colors.
When the animals die, they leave their skeletons behind to form coral reefs.
An octopus has a soft body and eight arms called tentacles.
They have large shiny eyes and very strong jaws.
There are about 50 kinds of octopi and most are the size of a human fist.
An octopus has three hearts that pump blood, and it breathes through gills.
A female octopus lays about 180,000 eggs and attaches them to rocks. The eggs hatch in about two months. The female does not eat while she is taking care of the eggs.
Crabs are animals that are covered by a hard shell and have jointed legs.
Crabs are sometimes found in deep water, but most often they are seen in shallow water along the shore.
There are over 4,500 kinds of crabs and each type lives in its own special habitat.
Most crabs eat other small crustaceans and organic matter.
Seahorses get their name because their heads look like a horse's head.
There are about 20 different kinds of seahorses.
Most seahorses live in warm seas.
The male seahorse takes care of the eggs. He keeps them in a pouch on his stomach until they hatch.
Some seahorses only grow to be three inches long.
A starfish is a pentagon-shaped animal with a flat body and five arms.
Starfish grow to be about five inches in diameter.
Starfish feed on oysters, clams, mussels, snails, worms, and other small creatures.
Sea turtles are reptiles and have shells on their backs. The shell makes up most of their skeleton.
Sea turtles have paddle-shaped legs that help them swim.
Instead of having teeth, sea turtles have sharp, pointy jaws that can cut into hard things. They eat animals and plants, and they usually will not swallow unless their head is underwater.
The female sea turtle leaves the ocean and lays her eggs in a deep nest in the sand on the beach. She will lay about 200 eggs. The sun hatches the eggs in about two months.
The most dangerous time for a sea turtle is just after it is hatched because its shell is still very soft.