MARINE LIFE
of Eastern North America
of & by the Atlantic Ocean
(other than Whales & Dolphins
and the Manatee)
including inshore & offshore waters
and coastal North Carolina
A list compiled by Armas Hill
With those seen during FONT tours
& pelagic trips
with an (*)
Photo at upper
right: the jellyfish known as the PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR
Links:
A
Listing of scheduled Focus On Nature Tours
Upcoming
Focus On Nature Tours in North America
FONT
Past Tour Highlights
Links, in the following list, to:
Sea
Turtles
Fish
Corals
& Jellyfish
Mollusks (Shells)
Arthropods
(including Crustaceans & Echinoderms)
Codes:
All of the following
either along the coast or offshore
DE
in Delaware
FL in Florida
NC in
North Carolina
NJ
in
New Jersey
NF in
Newfoundland, Canada
(p)
pelagically
(ASC:xx) refers to plate number of photo in the "National
Audubon Society Field Guide to Seashore Creatures"
(FGCF:xx) refers to the page with an
illustration in the book "A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes, from Maine to Texas", by
Val Kells & Kent Carpenter, 2011.
These classifications by the ICUN (International Union for Conservation of
Nature)
of Threatened & Near-threatened species;
(t1): critically endangered
(t2): endangered
(t3); vulnerable
(nt): near-threatened
MARINE, or SEA, TURTLES
(Reptiles)
- Leatherback (Sea) Turtle (t1) (*)
______ DE(p) NC(p) NJ(p)
Dermochelys coriacea
The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the world's largest turtle. It can weigh half a
ton. It is a deep
diver, able to go to a depth of about 5,000 feet.
- Loggerhead (Sea) Turtle (t2) (*)
______ DE(p) NC(p) NJ(p)
Caretta caretta
A Loggerhead Sea Turtle photographed during a
FONT pelagic trip
(photo by Alan Brady)
- Kemp's Ridley (Sea) Turtle (t1) (*)
______ DE(p)
Lepidochelys kempii
The Kemp's Ridley Turtle is the world's rarest sea turtle. It is classified as
"critically endangered".
- Green (Sea) Turtle (t2)
______ DE
Chelonia mydas
An excellent book about sea turtles is "Voyage
of the Turtle - in Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaurs", by Carl
Safina, Owl Books, 2007.
FISH
Click the above link to a list of
marine fish of
eastern North America: 209 species
INVERTEBRATES
including those of the OPEN OCEAN:
CNIDARIANS
(including corals & jellyfish)
STONY CORALS (Class Anthozoa)
- Northern Stony Coral ______ NC
Astrangia danae
(Range: Cape Cod to Florida)
JELLYFISH (Class Scyphozoa)
- Horned Stalked Jellyfish ______
(ASC:90)
Lucernaria quadricornis
- Eared Stalked Jellyfish ______
Haliclystus auricula
- Trumpet Stalked Jellyfish
______ (ASC:40)
Haliclystus salpinx
- Crown Jellyfish ______
(ASC:503)
Nausithoe punctata
- Purple Jellyfish ______
(ASC:508)
Pelagica noctiluca
The Purple Jellyfish occurs in large swarms, which appear as glowing white
balls at night.
Although Pelagica noctiluca is toxic, it is eaten by the
Ocean Sunfish and
the Blue Rockfish.
- Sea Nettle ______
(ASC:506,510)
Chrysaura quinquecirrha
- Lion's Mane ______ (ASC:514)
Cyanea capillata
The Lion's Mane is the largest jellyfish in the world. Specimens up to 8
feet wide have been found.
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story, "The Adventure of the Lion's
Mane", Sherlock Holmes solves a homicide caused by contact between the
victim and this medusa in a tidepool.
- Upside-down Jellyfish ______ (ASC:509)
Cassiopeia xamachana
- Moon Jellyfish (ph) (*) ______
DE NJ(p)
(ASC:502)
Aurelia aurita
Moon Jellyfish
Above on a beach; below in the water
- Cannonball Jellyfish (*)
______ FL
(ASC:507,514)
Stomolophus meleagris
HYDROIDS (Class Hydrozoa, Order Siphonophora: not true jellyfish)
- Portuguese Man-of-war (*)
______ NC(p) NJ (p) (ASC:512,513)
Physalia physalis
MOLLUSKS (SHELLS)
SEASHELLS are made by MOLLUSKS.
MOLLUSKS are invertebrate animals that produce shells of one or two pieces
that wholly or partially enclose a soft body.
SHELLS are the skeletons of MOLLUSKS. Like the internal skeleton
(endoskeleton) of a mammal, the external skeleton (exoskeleton) of mollusks
function both for protection and as a place for muscle attachment.
A SHELL found on a beach is the skeletal remnant of a dead MOLLUSK.
MOLLUSKS are either snail-like animals with one shell (UNIVALVES, or
GASTROPODS), or clam-like animals with two shells (BIVALVES). The two
shells of a BIVALVE are held tightly together when the animal is alive.
A third group of MOLLUSKS are the CEPHALOPODS, including SQUIDS and
OCTOPUSES. These animals lack external shells, having instead internal or
rudimentary shells.
GASTROPODS (Class
Gastropoda): snail-like mollusks with a one -part shell
