Crustaceans: Anthropods of the Oceanįormal classification of ocean animals follows the same rules as applied to other animals. The picture probably shows a worn Knobbed Whelk (Busycon carica), the official state shell of both New Jersey and Georgia. However their size pails in comparison to the Australian whelk species, the Trumpet Whelk (Syrinx aruanus), the world’s largest, growing to an average length of over two feet. The Busycon species, the larger of the two American whelk genera, grows up to nine inches in length, with a shell that opens to the right. While the shell is worn, the picture probably shows the Pear Whelk (busycotypus spiratus), a medium sized species (3-5 inches) that lives in coastal waters from North Carolina, south into the Gulf of Mexico. Over the past thirty years, commercial whelk harvest has spread along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, mostly for export to Europe and Japan. While conchs are vegetarian filter feeders, whelks are carnivores, feeding on both living and dead local mollusk species.

Diet differentiates the whelks the conchs. The term whelks usually refers to two genera of sea snails (Busycon and Busycotypus) found in near shore areas, mostly along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Smaller species are popular aquarium species. Their shells grow to an average length of four or five inches. Found near shore, from coastal North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico, they tend to live in large colonies, and contrary to the name, are not known to pick fights with one another. The picture shows a Florida Fighting Conch (Strombus alatus) with a Giant Hermit Crab in residence. Both types of seashells belong to large sea snails, and they are commonly found along Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast beaches. Conch shells and whelk shells fit the bill for collectors who go by the moto the larger the better. In fact, coastal outdoor recreation activities commonly include sea shell collecting. Sea shells fall into the familiar category. We learn very quickly that the oceans teem with both animal and plant life, some very familiar, some strange. Sand dollars, for example, are found along sandy beaches at low tide, while chiton are typically found on rocky beaches along the rocky inter-tidal zone. The types of ocean animals present in the inter-tidal zone in any give place, often depends on the type of inter-tidal zone in question, rocky or sandy. It also provides a home to many interesting ocean animals.

A stroll closer to the shoreline at low tide often reveals the jellyfish and starfish hanging out, waiting for the tide to come in. It’s often the case that a stroll down the boardwalk on any sandy beach along the East Coast brings the visitor face to face with nesting sea turtles or resident crab species. Americans fondness for outdoor recreation at the beach means they come face to face with many of the ocean animals that share the same space.

Ocean pictures