Identify marine life of the North Atlantic Coast with this pocket-size guide. Whether you’re strolling along the beach, wading across a tidepool, or snorkeling with your family, you’re bound to encounter a variety of marine life. If you’re curious about the underwater organisms you see, then Life on Intertidal Rocks by Cherie Hunter Day is just what you need. With the handy, easy-to-use book, you can identify intertidal plants and animals. The booklet begins with introductions to intertidal zones, intertidal species, and tidepools, followed by brief discussions of important aspects of intertidal life, such as water temperature and food. A field guide section presents nearly 100 species of marine life, organized by zones/habitats and groups such as algae, crabs, mussels, sea stars, and sponges. Determine which zone and habitat you are in, then turn to the correct section and compare the organism you’ve found with the species shown. Cherie’s professional illustrations and visual descriptions help you to identify each species. This guide is applicable to the intertidal zone of the North Atlantic’s rocky coast, from Rhode Island north to the Bay of Fundy, including Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia. Book Features: Simple guide to marine life identification - Nearly 100 species of intertidal plants and animals - Introductions to intertidal zones, tidepools, and more - Professional illustrations with key markings for identification - Small format that fits into a pocket or pack Cherie Hunter Day is a writer and an illustrator. An award-winning haiku and tanka poet, Cherie is the author of Apology Moon and The Horse with One Blue Eye, as well as the editor of Mariposa, the journal of the Haiku Poets of Northern California. Her nature illustrations have appeared in such books as Berry Finder and Track Finder. Crabs True crabs have four pairs of walking legs and two grasping claws. They walk forward and run sideways. Abdomens are reduced to flaps folded under flattened bodies. Males have a narrow flap; females have a broad one to carry fertilized eggs for 6–9 months until they hatch. For about 2 months, larvae swim free in the plankton community, then settle. Crabs scavenge in middle and lower zones and prey on polychaete worms, mussels, periwinkles, and even sea stars and sea urchins. Throughout life, growth is accomplished by successive molts, which leave them temporarily soft and vulnerable to bottom-feeding fish and lobsters. Mating takes place just after females molt. Calcium carbonate extracted from surrounding seawater helps new shells harden. Green Crab Carcinus maenas Body to 7.5 cm wide. Green mottled with yellow and black on top, yellow below, but reddish-orange in adult females. Young hide under rockweed and in crevices. Adults forage in mid tidepools. After dark at low tide, they scurry over rocks and rockweeds in search of food, fiercely brandishing front claws when startled. Tolerates estuarine conditions. Atlantic Rock Crab Cancer irroratus Body to 12.5 cm wide, smooth, yellow to olive brown with reddish-brown blotches on top, pale yellow below. Active. Runs from danger or burrows in shell debris between rocks. Jonah Crab Cancer borealis Body to 15 cm wide, rough with tubercles, red to pinkish-purple on top, cream colored below. Stands and fights with front claws or hides in crevices. Young crabs of both species are found under rocks, among Irish sea moss, and in low tidepools. Subtidal adults scavenge invertebrates and dead fish. Both species are edible and important to the shellfish industry in the Gulf of Maine. They are caught in crab traps, which are similar to lobster traps.