Sea animals

• Have you ever seen a sea?
• Do you know there is beautiful world under those blue waters?
• It dose not consist only of sharks and other fish.
• There are corals, flowers, octopuses, squids, and millions of creatures.
• Do you know what snorkeling and scuba-diving are?

 Unless you live near the sea, get ready for many surprises. You are going to meet some very strange animals and plants. Underwater life has a magical quality of its own. This is an introduction t a whole new world.

Here is a strip of beach at the very edge of the sea. At low side, it is a part of the land, but at high tide it is under water. The animals here can live either in the water or out of it. But they always have to be wet. When the tide goes out, you can find them buried in the wet sand.

 Thousands of animals live here where land and sea meet. You won’t find too many of them on a flat, sandy beach. But even there, if you follow tracks in the sand, you may poke out a round, velvety sand dollar or a baby horseshoe crab. If you dig, you may discover long-neck clams that squirt water at you. Or you may find sand crabs that rush away from you as fast as they can. On a rocky beach it is different. Turn over a rock or bunches of seaweed, and you will see hundreds of little creatures scurrying out of sight.

 As the tide goes out, it leaves little pools. Here you can get a really good look at the shore animals. You can easily pick out the crabs, starfish, and snails. If you wiggle your feet in the pool, little glassy shrimp may tickle your toes.

 Look at the tiny fish. These minnows swim very fast. They are hard to catch unless you use a big net. On the rock is a sea cucumber. Most of its body is shaped like a cucumber from your garden. But at its mouth end it has short branching parts that look like seaweed. Jellyfish are riding in and out with their pink umbrellas.