Creepy Crustaceans
This is the most famous ocean-dwelling crustacean with two massive claws. People love to eat them with melted butter.
What is a lobster?
This intelligent, eight-armed mollusc can camouflage by changing both its color and its skin texture to match its surroundings.
What is an octopus?
Many cephalopods (like squid and octopuses) shoot a cloud of this dark substance to blind predators while they make a quick escape.
What is ink?
Bivalve molluscs like clams, oysters, and mussels get their group name because their shell is made of this many hinged parts.
What is 2?
"I look like a tiny, swimming lobster in freshwater streams, and campers love catching me under rocks. In the South, they call me a mudbug."
What is a crayfish?
This tiny, shrimp-like creature swims in massive swarms and is the main food for giant blue whales.
What is krill?
This is the muscular feature that all molluscs use to move around, dig into the sand, or grip onto rocks.
What is the foot?
Many octopuses use this stealthy superpower to blend into the rocks and sand so predators can't see them.
What is camouflage?
This homeless crustacean doesn't grow its own shell; instead, it has to go scavenge for abandoned snail shells to move into.
What is a hermit crab?
"I am a land-dwelling mollusc that leaves a silvery, slimy trail across the camp trails in the morning. I carry my house on my back."
What is a snail?
Crabs don't usually walk forward or backward. Instead, they walk in this direction.
What is sideways?
While land snails are famous for being slow, this ten-armed marine mollusc is built for speed, using jet propulsion to blast through the water.
What is a squid?
This colorful shrimp is famous for having a punch so incredibly fast and powerful that it can crack aquarium glass.
What is mantis shrimp?
When an oyster gets an annoying piece of sand stuck inside its shell, it covers it up to protect itself, accidentally creating this valuable jewelry item.
What is a pearl?
"I am a marine crustacean with a round, dome-like shell and a long, pointy tail. I look like an alien, but I've been around since before the dinosaurs!"
What is a horseshoe crab?
Because their shells are hard like armor, a crab must go through this process where it cracks open its old shell and crawls out so it can grow bigger.
What is molting?
If a crab loses a claw in a fight with a predator, it doesn't worry because it has the superpower to do this over time.
What is grow it back (regenerate)?
"I am a colorful mollusc. My name sounds like I'm completely naked, and I steal stinging cells from jellyfish to use as my own defense."
What is a nudibranch or sea slug?
These crusty creatures glue their heads to rocks, boats, or whales, grow a volcano-like shell around themselves, and kick food into their mouths using their feathery legs.
What are barnacles?
This deep-sea mollusc has eyes the size of dinner plates to help it see in the pitch black, and it loves to battle sperm whales.
What is the giant squid?
The Pistol Shrimp uses its oversized claw like a weapon to make a loud snapping sound that does this to nearby fish.
What is stuns them (knocks them out/stuns)?
Slugs and nudibranchs are unique molluscs because they completely lack this feature that most of their relatives rely on.
What is a shell?
"I am the largest type of squid in the world. I live deep in the dark ocean and love to fight sperm whales."
What is the giant squid?