Horseshoe crabs are scary to some people. Horseshoe crabs are not really crabs, though. They call it a horseshoe crab because it's in a form of a horseshoe. When it is swimming, it puts its tail deep into the water and it looks like an army hat. It has eyes on the top of its head and it has a long tail. Actually, this creature is more closely related to arachnids, or spiders.

Clams and mussels have a lot in common. They and oysters are the same kind of shellfish- they are not like crabs and lobsters. Clams and mussels also feed the same way- by sticking little straw like things out of their shells and sucking up water. Inside the shell, they suck up the nutrients, and then spit out the water. That is called filter feeding.

Oystering is a big business for New Haven.

You can tons of these clumped together in the salt marsh. The shells are black with "ribs" running along the shell. It can tolerate long periods of exposure to the dry air and a range of salinity. They also help to hold the edge of the marsh together!

Mud Snails, or Periwinkles, are very common. They eat dead things and have a shell. They move very slowly and each has a foot that it uses to move. If you hum or sing softly it will come out of its shell and show the two antennas on its head.

Fiddler crabs are cool.
Male crabs have a big pincher and a small one. They wave the large one in the air to impress females. Females have two normal sized pinchers. To eat, females take food in both pinchers and put it in their mouth, one pincher by one. The male does the same, except he just uses his small pincher. Fiddler crabs like to live under rocks, and when the rock that they're under is overturned, they disappear into the mud very fast.

This crab lives in empty snail shells! It has to change shells as it grows. They are scavengers.

The female has a red belly. This crab is better adapted for walking than for swimming. It is very common. Fishermen often use them as bait. The green crab like to eat soft-shelled clams.

When animal gets into a boat, sometimes they are carried to a different countries. When these animals are brought over to a different country, they take over. What happens is the new species pushes the other species that were living in that habitat out. Also, the new species might be taking over the other species. When they first come over, their numbers are so high because they produce babies. Also, other animals they don't know yet that they can feed on it and that's another reason why when new species come over, that their numbers are so high and have so much time to produce babies. This crab is unmistakeable. It has spots all over its shell.

Razor Clams are very slender. When they get scared, they shoot down into the sand to hide. They are so thin that they can do this without trouble.

These worms bury themselves in mud or sand, often hiding under rocks. They eat various forms of small marine life, including other worms.