The sand eel is not an eel it is actually a fish which can swim and burrow in the sand

Eelgrass is the only flowering plant able to grow underwater in British seas

Limpets have about 2000 teeth on their rasping tongue, which they use to scrape the rocks with!

The breadcrumb sponge got its name from the way it crumbles when it is handled so don't touch!

A limpet clings to its rocky perch so firmly that it would take a force 2000 times its own weight to prise it off.

Cushion Stars are bisexual, becomes a male at 2 years of age and then a female from 4 years of age onwards.

Aristotle's Lanternis the name of thesystem of five lever-operated teeth which the urchin uses to graze seaweed and rocks.

Devil crabs were given that name as their eyes stand out on stalks and are bright red so in the dark rock pools they shine out at you!

Sugar kelp and sea lettuce just two of the many seaweeds that are eaten as a delicacy in the far east.

Starfish leave attackers behind by losing a limb, however things do not always go to plan when it comes to growing a new on. Sometimes things go wrong and often some will have nine arms instead of five!

Seahorses use their back fins to propel themselves through the water. Even at top speed it would take a seahorse 2 days to travel half a mile!

Wacky Creatures

The spider crabs are crustaceans like regular crabs but crabs only move sideways and this species of crabs crabs can scuttle diagonally, just like spiders (where they get there from!) and also unlike regular crabs they burrow into the sand.They also have long spindly legs like spiders. These legs are easily damaged and often you will see them with a leg missing! They camouflage themselves by attaching animal and plant parts to their bodies. Sponges, hydroids and young anemones also attach themselves to the body of the spider crabs. They transfer everything attached to their shells to their new shells by coating everything with a sticky substance from their mouths.Their reproductive organs are in thier legs. It is the males who carry the firtalised eggs around, also on their legs! They are carryied around in bundles which are attached to thier limbs. Hunt for these creatures in rock pools around the lower part, and the scorpion spider crab can be found under the tentacles of the snakelocks anemone where it has a special relation that scientists do not yet understand!

A beautiful creature is often missed when people explore the rockpools around the seashore centre. It doesn't look alive does it, but it is a living, breathing, reproducing marine species called a star ascidian, which belong to the sea squirt family. Sea squirts are tiny individuals (called ZOOIDS ) growing together to form a colony. The star ascidians are vividly coloured with star shaped patterns embedded in a jelly - like layer. It is the star shaped patterns that are the living zooids. 3 - 12 zooids form each star. They are suspension feeders. Each individual feeds independently of the others. Water is sucked in by each individual and once the plankton has been trapped by mucus inside, the water is flushed out through the centre of each star.Reproduction can occur in two ways. Either by budding, which can happen all year round. Secondly eggs are fertilized in the atrium, where they develop to tadpole larvae which escape through the common exhalant openings. They then swim for 16 hours then settle, where they live for about 1 - 2 years. All this happens in spring and summer.Star ascidians are pried upon by gastropod mollcus, they defend themselves by secreting an acid substance, leaving a nasty taste in the predators mouth!