Animals 3 Sea Creatures: inhabitants of the coral reef Images Origin: mostly at Cozumel Coral Reef Photos.

fish

Queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris

octopus

Octopus Octopus vulgaris

shark

nurse shark Ginglymostoma cirratum

coral

Rose coral Manicina areolata: At first, I couldn't figure out what I was looking at. During the day, the corals look like rocks; the polyps only come out in the dark. I took a picture of one with the polyps retracted, next to one that was actively feeding.

scallop

Scallops are bivalves; they have two hard shells and a soft body. They are benthic animals; they spend most of their time on the sea bottom. Scallops mostly stay in underwater grass beds on a soft, shallow sea floor. Scallops use jet propulsion to move; they quickly open and close their shells, squirting the water out of the shells, moving in spurts. These invertebrate animals have a life span of about 1 1/2 years. A live individual of Argopecten irradians, the Atlantic Bay scallop,Argopecten irradians

crab

Clinging crab, Mithrax forceps

sea star

krill

A northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica)northern krill Krill is a type of shrimp-like marine invertebrate animal. These tiny crustaceans are important organisms of the zooplankton, particularly as food for baleen whales, manta rays, whale sharks, crabeater seals, and other seals, and a few seabird species that feed almost exclusively on them. They congregate in large, dense masses called "swarms" or "clouds," that turn areas of the ocean's surface pink.

jellyfish

moray eel

Spotted moray eel Gymnothorax moringa

ray

Southern stingray Dasyatis Americana

turtle