Beachcomber's Guide to Gulf Coast Marine Life: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida

abundant adults algae amphipod amphitrite anemone animals areas Ascension Island Atlantic attached Balanus Balanus amphitrite barnacles bays beach blue crab body bottom bryozoans Bull burrow Callinectes carapace carapace length Caribbean clam claws cm in carapace colony color common crustaceans eggs Family fauna feeding females nesting Figure fish flippers Florida gills grass green turtles Gulf of Mexico habitats hatchlings hawksbill hermit crabs hydroids inhabited invertebrates Island isopod Janthina jellyfish jetties juveniles Kemp's ridley larvae leatherback legs Linnaeus lives loggerheads male marine mature medusae Menippe Mercenaria mud crab mussel nearshore nematocysts nesting females Neverita northwestern Gulf Coast occur offshore oil platforms organisms oyster Pagurus pelagic Phylum plankton polychaete polyps predators prey proboscis reefs salinity sand Sargassum sea turtles sediment shallow shell shore shrimp snail species spines sponges Stramonita strandings substrate surface swim temperature tentacles Texas coast tide trawls tube urchin usually worm zooids