Knobby keyhole limpet
Science name: Fissurella nodosa Snails with a characteristic hole at the apex, which feed by rasping microscopic plants off rock surfaces with the radula, a file-like tongue. You may also like [smart_post_show id="19584"] ...
Green sea mat
Science name: Zoanthus sociatus Ellis. Grows in dense, connected, mat-like colonies of greenish or bluish polyps with short, blunt tentacles. They are usually found attached to rocks just below the low-tide mark and are easy to observe in the shallow water of the reef flat. Zoanthids have symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that supply food and oxygen and give them their beautiful colour. They also feed by capturing plankton with their tentacles. You may also like [smart_post_show id="19584"] ...
Dwarf cerith
Science name: Cerithium lutusom Menke. Small beautifully sculptured ceriths occur in clusters and inhabit a range of habitats from intertidal areas to coral reefs. You may also like [smart_post_show id="19584"] ...
Bearded fireworm
A highly conspicuous worm with red gills and toxic white bristles on each segment. It feeds on the soft tissue of corals and sea anemones and is readily observed on reef rubble in shallow water, under stones, and on the coral reef. Though slow moving it is highly mobile and forages out in the open. When disturbed, the worm flares out the bristles so they are more exposed and ready to detach. Wear protective footwear while wading on the reef flat and in the shallows and avoid contact. The venom-filled bristles are easily shed and cause an intense, burning, long-lasting irritation. Recommended First Aid...
Atlantic ghost crab
Science name: Ocypode quadrata. This sand-coloured crab with white claws is familiar to all who visit sandy beaches as it scurries about foraging for food at the tideline. It lives in holes on the beach and creates its burrow by the constant digging motion of its claws to scoop up the sand and toss it away. Nimble and shy it will flee down its burrow in an instant if approached too close. Both a scavenger and a predator of the sandy shore, ghost crabs play an important role in energy transfer in beach ecosystems. You may also like [smart_post_show id="19584"] ...
Caulerpa
The genus Caulerpa belongs to the Chlorophyta (green algae) of which twelve species have been recorded for Trinidad and Tobago. Members of the genus consist of one cell only with many nuclei, making them among the largest single cells in the world. They are characterized by a creeping stolon which is tabular, from the under surface of which downwardly pointing rhizoids grow and serve to attached the organism to some support (pebbles, reefs, or other solid surface.) From the upper surface the photosynthetic portion, called the frond, grows upwards. Different species of the genius are recognized by the shape of the frond. Caulerpa racemosa has...
Ulva Lactuca
Ulva is a genus of green algae (Chorophyta); seven species of which are recorded for Trinidad and Tobago. The most commonly seen of these is Ulva lactuca Linnaeus, known as Sea lettuce. It is found growing on rocks and other solid surfaces in shallow waters and is thus often exposed at low tide. Irregular ins shape sometimes with ruffled edges, it is attached to the substrate by a small, disc-shaped holdfast. The thallus, which grows as a single frond, is a yellowish-green to dark green, two-layered sheet of randomly arranged cells. The cells appear to be empty, but for cup-shaped chloroplasts on the sides nearest...
Grooved goose-neck barnacle
Lepas anserifera Another type of barnacle that is commonly found attached to floating debris washed up on beaches, driftwood, and ship hulls is the Goose-neck barnacle. It has a long, fleshy stalk ending in a flat body formed of several connected calcareous plates. Barnacles feed through feather-like appendages called cirri. As the cirri rapidly extend and retract through the opening at the top of the barnacle, they comb the water for microscopic organism. When the tide goes out. The barnacle closes up shop to conserve moisture. As the tide comes in, a muscle opens the door so the feathery cirri can sift for food. You may also...
Fire Coral
Fire Coral is associated with coral reefs where it occupies shallow water down to the deep reef. It forms colonies that look like coral but despite the name they are actually not true corals. They are more closely related to stinging hydroids and jellyfish. Fire coral is not always easily recognizable: it can form upright, ruffled sheets or small branches, may overgrow surfaces and other marine life, taking the shape of the encrusted object e.g. sea fans. It is readily seen at Mount Irvine, Buccoo Reef, and Speyside, Tobago, and on the reef flat at Salybia Bay, Toco, Trinidad. Contact with Fire coral is usually...
Coconut palm
Science name: Cocos nucifera A common sight along the seashore worldwide, the slender, leaning trunk grows to a height of 25m. The leaves arise in a crown at the top, each leaf approximately 5m in length with many leaflets. The flowers grow among the leaves and are yellow-white in colour. Female flowers produce single-seeded fruit (coconuts). Each coconut has a fibrous husk which surrounds a woody shell containing the coconut meat, milk and oil. From the trunk to the nut every part of this versatile palm is useful. It is used in cooking, cosmetics, soap, fertilizer, roofing material, mats and even jewellery, among other things....