Click on the first letter of the common name.

British Invertebrates - marine

 		Species 1 - 45 of 45
Thumbnail for Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina)
Actinia equina (Beadlet anemone)
The beadlet anemone is the most familiar sea anemone in Britain. When disturbed or exposed to air at low tide it appears as a... More 20 Images 4 Videos
Thumbnail for Dead man’s fingers (Alcyonium digitatum)
Alcyonium digitatum (Dead man’s fingers)
Dead man’s fingers is a colonial soft coral that forms thick, fleshy and irregular masses, which are often finger-like in... More 11 Images 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Sea-fan anemone (Amphianthus dohrnii)
Amphianthus dohrnii (Sea-fan anemone)
This small anemone is pink, orange, red or buff-coloured with streaks of white, and has up to around 80 irregularly arranged small... More 4 Images 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Sea lemon (Archidoris pseudoargus)
Archidoris pseudoargus (Sea lemon)
The sea lemon, Archidoris pseudoargus (also known as Archidoris tuberculata in much of Europe) is a common sea slug... More 6 Images 1 Video
Thumbnail for Lugworm (Arenicola marina)
Arenicola marina (Lugworm)
The presence of this lugworm can be detected by the characteristic signs of one of its U or J-shaped burrows; depressions are... More 7 Images 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Common starfish (Asterias rubens)
Asterias rubens (Common starfish)
The common starfish has 5 arms (although individuals may occasionally have just 4 or as many as 6). The colour varies from red to... More 10 Images 5 Videos
Thumbnail for Fan mussel (Atrina fragilis)
Atrina fragilis (Fan mussel)
Growing to an impressive 48 cm in length, the fan mussel (Atrina fragilis) is one of the largest of the bivalve molluscs... More 10 Images 1 Video
Thumbnail for Common jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)
Aurelia aurita (Common jellyfish)
This is the most common jellyfish on British shores. The body is a saucer shaped 'bell', which is colourless except for 4 obvious... More 8 Images 9 Videos
Thumbnail for Star ascidian (Botryllus schlosseri)
Botryllus schlosseri (Star ascidian)
The star ascidian is a colonial sea-squirt. The individual members of the colony (known as zooids) are embedded in a jelly-like... More 5 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Common whelk (Buccinum undatum)
Buccinum undatum (Common whelk)
This large, common whelk has a stout, yellowish-brown shell with lighter and darker spiral areas. It has 7-8 whorls, and a large... More 8 Images 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Edible crab (Cancer pagurus)
Cancer pagurus (Edible crab)
The common and familiar edible crab is easily identified by its large black-tipped toothed pincers and characteristic ‘pie-crust’... More 12 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Common shore crab (Carcinus maenas)
Carcinus maenas (Common shore crab)
The shore crab is one of the commonest crabs on the shore, and anyone who has gone rock-pooling is likely to have encountered one... More 11 Images 5 Videos
Thumbnail for Common cockle (Cerastoderma edule)
Cerastoderma edule (Common cockle)
This well-known edible cockle has a solid shell, consisting of two valves, which feature prominent ribs and concentric growth-lines... More 7 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Compass jellyfish (Chrysaora hysoscella)
Chrysaora hysoscella (Compass jellyfish)
The compass jellyfish has a saucer-shaped bell, with 32 semi-circular lobes around the fringe, each one with a brown spot. On the... More 5 Images 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Jewel anemone (Corynactis viridis)
Corynactis viridis (Jewel anemone)
The jewel anemone is so-called because of its spectacular colouration. Individuals may be bright green, orange, red, pink or white... More 10 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Masked crab (Corystes cassivelaunus)
Corystes cassivelaunus (Masked crab)
The masked crab (also known as the sand crab) has an elongated carapace, which is reddish brown to yellow in colour, and sometimes... More 4 Images 1 Video
Thumbnail for Common shrimp (Crangon crangon)
Crangon crangon (Common shrimp)
The common shrimp, also known as the brown shrimp, is cryptically coloured; it is brown and covered with tiny flecks. Although most... More 5 Images 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Edible sea urchin (Echinus esculentus)
Echinus esculentus (Edible sea urchin)
The edible or common sea urchin has a large, rounded 'shell', which is actually an external skeleton, correctly called a 'test'... More 8 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Ivell’s sea anemone (Edwardsia ivelli)
Edwardsia ivelli (Ivell’s sea anemone)
A simple animal, the sea anemone is made up of a column with a mouth, used to take in food and expel waste, and several tentacles... More 1 Image 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa)
Eledone cirrhosa (Curled octopus)
The cephalopods (meaning 'head-footed'), a group of molluscs that contain the octopuses, squid and cuttlefish, are probably the... More 10 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Razor shell (Ensis ensis)
Ensis ensis (Razor shell)
This razor shell is a common, burrowing mollusc, which has an elongated fragile and narrow shell shaped like a cut-throat razor... More 3 Images 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Pink sea fan (Eunicella verrucosa)
Eunicella verrucosa (Pink sea fan)
Pink sea fans are formed from a colony of tiny polyps; they may be a deep pink to white in colour, and attach to the substrate with... More 6 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Tall sea pen (Funiculina quadrangularis)
Funiculina quadrangularis (Tall sea pen)
Sea pens are colonial organisms that belong to the same group as corals and sea anemones. Each animal comprises of a colony of... More 4 Images 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Homarus gammarus (Common lobster)
The common lobster is a very large and commercially important species. The upper surface is dark blue in colour with yellowish... More 6 Images 5 Videos
Thumbnail for Laver spire shell (Hydrobia ulvae)
Hydrobia ulvae (Laver spire shell)
The laver spire snail, also known as the mudsnail, has a small, spiralling shell, which is brown to yellow in colour. The snail is... More 1 Image 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Goose barnacle (Lepas anatifera)
Lepas anatifera (Goose barnacle)
Goose barnacles gave rise to one of the strangest of animal beliefs. The heart-shaped shell, or ‘capitulum’, is a chalky-white in... More 7 Images 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Sunset cup coral (Leptopsammia pruvoti)
Leptopsammia pruvoti (Sunset cup coral)
The slow-growing and long-lived sunset cup coral has a porous skeleton about the size of a thimble. The polyps are similar in... More 6 Images 1 Video
Thumbnail for Sea slater (Ligia oceanica)
Ligia oceanica (Sea slater)
The common sea slater is a sea-shore relative of woodlice that can grow up to 3 cm in length. It has a flattened, oval-shaped body... More 8 Images 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Edible periwinkle (Littorina littorea)
Littorina littorea (Edible periwinkle)
Periwinkles are a large family of gastropod molluscs found on the shore. The edible periwinkle is perhaps the best known species of... More 8 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Flat periwinkle (Littorina obtusata)
Littorina obtusata (Flat periwinkle)
Periwinkles are a large family of gastropod molluscs found on the shore. The flat periwinkle is so-called because the spire of the... More 5 Images 1 Video
Thumbnail for Common mussel (Mytilus edulis)
Mytilus edulis (Common mussel)
The common mussel has a roughly triangular shell, which is bluish, purplish or brown in colour and covered with a black outer layer... More 10 Images 5 Videos
Thumbnail for Velvet swimming crab (Necora puber)
Necora puber (Velvet swimming crab)
The fast-moving velvet swimming crab has a flattened carapace, which is wider than it is long. The upper surface is blue but has a... More 17 Images 2 Videos
Thumbnail for Sea-spider (Nymphon gracile)
Nymphon gracile (Sea-spider)
The sea-spiders, or pycogonids, are an unusual group of marine arthropods, which are completely unrelated to terrestrial spiders... More 2 Images 1 Video
Thumbnail for Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)
Octopus vulgaris (Common octopus)
The cephalopods (meaning ‘head-footed) are a group of molluscs that contain the octopuses, squid and cuttlefish, and are probably... More 9 Images 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Common brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis)
Ophiothrix fragilis (Common brittlestar)
Like all brittlestars, the common brittlestar has five long, slender arms, which radiate out from a central disc. The mouth is... More 7 Images 1 Video
Thumbnail for Native oyster (Ostrea edulis)
Ostrea edulis (Native oyster)
The native oyster is a bivalve mollusc, which means ‘two shells’, and is rough, scaly and yellowish-grey in colour. Each valve... More 3 Images 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Common hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus)
Pagurus bernhardus (Common hermit crab)
Despite the common name, hermit crabs are related more closely to lobsters than to crabs. They lack a hard carapace, and adopt the... More 7 Images 4 Videos
Thumbnail for Common prawn (Palaemon serratus)
Palaemon serratus (Common prawn)
The common prawn is a well-known swimming crustacean, which is pinkish-brown in colour and features reddish spots and lines. The... More 9 Images 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Common limpet (Patella vulgata)
Patella vulgata (Common limpet)
The common limpet is a well-known seashore species. It has a conical shell, the outer surface of which is greyish-white. Shells... More 6 Images 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Sea gooseberry (Pleurobrachia pileus)
Pleurobrachia pileus (Sea gooseberry)
Members of the phylum Ctenophora are known as sea-gooseberries or comb-jellies, and are startlingly beautiful marine invertebrates... More 4 Images 3 Videos
Thumbnail for Peppery furrow shell (Scrobicularia plana)
Scrobicularia plana (Peppery furrow shell)
The peppery furrow shell is a bivalve mollusc with a thin, flattened, rounded shell. The outer surface of the shell may be white... More 4 Images 1 Video
Thumbnail for Acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
Semibalanus balanoides (Acorn barnacle)
Barnacles are well-known intertidal organisms. They were not firmly accepted to be crustaceans until the 1830s; before this time... More 7 Images 0 Videos
Thumbnail for Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)
Sepia officinalis (Common cuttlefish)
The cephalopods (meaning 'head-footed'), a group of molluscs containing the octopuses, squid and cuttlefish, are probably the most... More 12 Images 8 Videos
Thumbnail for Sand hopper (Talitrus saltator)
Talitrus saltator (Sand hopper)
Sand-hoppers are so called because of their ability to leap when disturbed; they do so by tucking in the tail, and rapidly flicking... More 1 Image 1 Video
Thumbnail for European cowrie (Trivia monacha)
Trivia monacha (European cowrie)
The European or spotted cowrie is a marine mollusc that has an egg-shaped glossy shell featuring many transverse ridges with a long... More 7 Images 2 Videos
Species 1 - 45 of 45