Animals found between the tides on the muddy shores of NZ are: mussels, barnacles, limpets, sea anemones, and predatory sea stars, each with a different ability to avoid predation or live outside of the water.
cirri which extend and retract at the top of the barnacle in order to eat microscopic organisms. They mainly eat plankton. A muscle opens so the cirri can sift for food. Barnacles defend themselves by having calcium carbonate shells and two plates that shut when not eating to ward off predators.
Limpets scrape the rocks with a strong toothy organ known as a radula. They eat other barnacles.The thick, conical shell and strong, muscular foot combine to ma
Sea anemones Sea anemones feed by their tentacles. They mainly eat fish and kill them by firing a harpoon-like filament called a nematocyst into their prey. Once injected with the paralyzing neurotoxin, the prey is guided into the mouth by the tentacles.
Sea anemone uses its tentacles to capture prey and defend itself against predators. Every tentacle is covered with thousands of tiny stinging capsules called nematocysts. ... The anemone moves all the nearby tentacles into position to sting and hold its prey until it is subdued by the poison.
Predatory sea stars feed by extending their stomach through their mouth and over the digestible parts of its prey, such as mussels and clams. The prey tissue is partially digested externally before the soup-like "chowder" produced is drawn back into its 10 digestive glands. Sea stars can defend themselves from predators by detaching an arm from its body. Mussels catch their food by filtering it through the water. They keep themselves safe from predators by their hard outer shells. Mussels eat algae and bacteria.
Barnacles catch their food by using their feather-like appendages known as ke a strong defence against predators. The shell is shaped to give this animal a low profile, protecting it from crashing waves and strong coastal currents.
