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Marine Life of the New Quay and Cei Bach Seashores
Click on each thumbnail
for a bigger photo (most are 500 x 375 and are between 20 and 65 Kb).
Molluscs include the
Bivalves, ( 2
shells that fit together ), the Gastropods ( coiled snail-like shells )
and the
Cephalopods (Squids, Cuttlefish and Octopus )
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Limpets
Patella vulgata
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Dogwhelks
Nucella lapilus
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Mussels
Mytilus edulis
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Top Shells
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Scallop
Pecten maximus
mostly broken shells - probably from the fish factory to the west of
the town
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Whelk
Buccinum undatum
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Whelk Eggs
Buccinum undatum
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| Crustaceans include the Crabs, Shrimps,
Lobsters and Barnacles |
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Acorn Barnacles
Chthamalus
stellatus
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Shore Crab
Carcinus maenas
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Seaweeds - or Algae
are
divided into three main groups according to their colour. They are the
Greens
the Browns and the reds. Each group has a different
pigment
to trap the energy of light - the greens tend to be higher up the
shoreline, the browns and reds lower down with the larger browns like Laminaria
only growing at or below the low tide line.
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Chondrus crispus
This is a red seaweed called Carragheen
Moss in
Ireland where it is eaten
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Serrated Wrack
Fucus serratus
- a brown seaweed
covering much of the rocks between high and low tide
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Codium
Codium tomentosum
- a green alga with
thick cylindrical stems.
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Enteromorpha
Grows rapidly in the late spring and makes the rocks below the high
tide mark quite slippery.
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Dulse
This is a red edible seaweed
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Laver
Porphyra umbilicalis
- used to make Laver Bread in Wales
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Furcellaria
another red seaweed
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Horn Weed
Flustra foliacea
Not a seaweed at all
but a primitive animal belonging to the group Bryozoa.
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Kelp
Laminaria sacharina
- the Kelps
and Oar weeds are very robust brown seaweeds firmly attached to the
rocks by a
holdfast
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Kelp
Laminaria digitata
The stem or 'stipe' of this Kelp is very
strong and flexible. They are only
broken away from the rocks by severe storms.
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Leathesia
Leathesia diformis
is a hollow
brown sac-like seaweed often washed up on the beach
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Bladder Wrack
Fucus vesiculosus
has air filled bladders which buoy up the fronds towards the light when
they are submerged. The swollen tips of the fronds are the reproductive
organs.
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Japanese Seaweed
an invasive and fast growing import from
Japan, Sargassum muticum may be
washed up on the shore.
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Coral
Weed
Corallina officinalis
- a red seaweed
whose fronds are impregnated with calcium carbonate absorbed from the
sea water
giving it a 'coral' like
appearance.
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| Coelenterates - The Jellyfish and Sea anemones |
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Beadlet Anemone
Actinia aquina
lives in the rock pools, but is sometimes
exposed at low tide when it withdraws its tentacles
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All Photos © 2003 Rod Attrill
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