Animal Encyclopedia Category: Cephalopods, Crustaceans, & Other Shellfish

The Antarctic krill is an extremely common, pelagic crustacean native to the waters surrounding Antarctica and is one of the most important prey species near the bottom of Southern Ocean food webs. It can form dense aggregations, and scientists believe the total combined biomass of this species to be as much as several hundred million … Read more

The Argentine shortfin squid is a common species off the coasts of Brazil and Argentina and is the target of one of the largest fisheries in the world. This species is relatively small, with a mantle (= body) length of only about one foot (30 cm) or less and tentacle length of another 9 inches … Read more

The American oyster is an iconic species of the Chesapeake Bay and other coastal waters of eastern North America. Historically, this species was so common and made such large reefs that it was a documented navigation hazard in some areas. Unfortunately, a history of overexploitation, pollution, and physical damage has reduced the American oyster population … Read more

White shrimp progress through several life history stages in a short amount of time, mature quickly, and typically live for less than a year. Adults live on soft bottoms from the near shore to depths of a few hundred feet. Unlike many aquatic invertebrates, white shrimp reproduce via internal fertilization. After mating, females release hundreds of thousands of … Read more

When disturbed, the vampire squid inverts its cape, displaying large spines that line the underside of its arms. When exhibiting this posture, this species looks rather intimidating, but it is actually quite harmless. It is not predatory. Instead, it depends on food particles that it captures using sticky cells on its long, filamentous tentacles. In this way, it opportunistically … Read more

Tiger prawns progress through several life history stages in a short amount of time and mature quickly. Adults live on soft bottoms. Unlike many aquatic invertebrates, tiger prawns reproduce via internal fertilization. After mating, females release hundreds of thousands of fertilized eggs, which quickly hatch. Planktonic larvae live in the open ocean, and juveniles live in estuaries, before moving … Read more

The giant triton is an active predator and is known to aggressively chase its prey, which it detects with its excellent sense of smell. Though the chase may seem slow to human observers, the giant triton is known for relatively high speeds, especially for a snail. It prefers to eat other snails and sea stars, most notably … Read more

The flamingo tongue is a small marine snail that lives on coral reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean. This species is very colorful, with bright pink or orange coloration and black spots. Interestingly, these colors are not associated with the shell, which is somewhat drab. Instead, the color comes from the marine snail’s soft tissue, which … Read more

The American lobster (also known as the Maine lobster) is a large-bodied, clawed lobster that supports a large, lucrative fishery throughout its range. This species is closely related to the European lobster but only distantly related to the spiny lobsters of the Caribbean and California, all of which are also commercially targeted species. The American lobster … Read more

The American horseshoe crab is not a true crab and is not even a crustacean at all. In fact, this species is more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to crabs, shrimps, and lobsters. As a broader group, horseshoe crabs have been around for at least 450 million years, making them one of the … Read more