Vocabulary: sea creature

• a large brown seaweed that typically has a long, tough stalk with a broad frond divided into strips

  The sea urchins feed on giant kelp.

Also pronounced /kɑːntʃ/. The shell is used as a natural horn in some cultures, and appears prominently in "Lord of the Flies".

• a large spiral sea shell, or the marine mollusk that lives in it

  She held the conch to her ear to hear the ocean.

Named for its long, narrow shell, shaped like an old-fashioned straight razor. Not in Merriam-Webster with its own recording, so no audio_mw here.

• a marine clam with a long, narrow shell that burrows quickly into sand

  At low tide, they dug for razor clams along the beach.

Not a plant - an echinoderm related to starfish and sea urchins. Eaten as a delicacy in parts of East and Southeast Asia. Not in Merriam-Webster with its own recording, so no audio_mw here.

• a soft-bodied, elongated marine animal related to starfish, found on the sea floor

  Divers spotted a large sea cucumber resting on the reef.

Three unrelated senses: marine mammal, official stamp, and airtight closure. "Seal of approval" = endorsement. Navy SEALs: elite US military unit.

• a marine mammal with flippers

  Seals basked on the rocks.

From Latin bi- (two) + valva (leaf of a door). The two 'doors' are the shell halves. Common edible bivalves: clam, mussel, oyster, scallop.

• a mollusk with a hinged shell of two halves, such as a clam, mussel, oyster, or scallop

  Bivalves filter water through their gills to feed on plankton.

"Happy as a clam" (idiom) = very happy. "Clam up" (informal) = to become silent.

• a marine bivalve mollusk with a shell of two equal halves

  They dug for clams on the beach.

Shell shape inspired the Shell Oil logo. "Scalloped edge" is a decorative wavy border. "Coquilles Saint-Jacques" is a French scallop dish.

• an edible shellfish with a fan-shaped shell

  They had grilled scallops for dinner.

British English tends to say 'prawn' where American English says 'shrimp' (often for the larger ones).

• a small edible shellfish similar to a shrimp, with a long body and legs

  We ordered a plate of grilled prawns.

British English tends to say prawn for the larger ones; 'shrimp' is more common in American English.

1. a small, long-tailed shellfish that lives in water

   The shrimp scuttled along the seabed.

2. this shellfish prepared and eaten as food

   We ordered a shrimp cocktail.

Distinguished from true seals by visible external ear flaps and the ability to walk on all four flippers on land.

• a large marine mammal related to seals, with external ear flaps and the ability to walk on its flippers

  Sea lions barked and basked on the rocky pier.

Bluefin tuna can sell for record prices in Japan ($3.1 million for one fish at the Tokyo fish market in 2019). Overfishing is a major sustainability concern.

• a large saltwater fish, often eaten as food

  She made a tuna sandwich for lunch.

Plural is usually walruses, though walrus can also be used as a plural in animal-count contexts.

• a large Arctic marine mammal with long tusks, whiskers, and flippers

  A walrus hauled itself onto the ice beside the research boat.

Unlike land tortoises, sea turtles have flipper-like limbs and cannot retract their heads into their shells.

• a large marine reptile with a flattened shell and flipper-like limbs, adapted for life in the ocean

  Green sea turtles nest on this beach every summer.

Has a venomous barbed tail; the animal that killed Steve Irwin (2006).

• a flat, broad sea fish with a long poisonous tail spine

  A stingray glided across the sandy seabed.

• a sea animal with a long soft body, eight arms, and two longer tentacles

  A squid can shoot ink to confuse predators.

• a small, oily, silvery fish from the herring family, typically eaten salted, cured, or canned; commonly used as a strong-tasting pizza topping or in Caesar salad dressing

  He hates anchovies on his pizza.

Homophone of "muscle". Common in moules-frites (Belgian dish).

• an edible shellfish with a dark elongated shell, found in fresh or salt water

  They ordered a bowl of mussels in white wine sauce.

• a freshwater or marine fish with whisker-like barbels around the mouth

  They caught a large catfish in the river.

Once-abundant North Atlantic cod stocks have been severely depleted by overfishing. "Codfish" or just "cod".

• a large saltwater fish that is widely eaten as food

  They had fried cod and chips for dinner.

Genus name: Hippocampus (from Greek "horse + sea monster"). Notable: male seahorses carry the eggs to term.

• a small marine fish with an upright posture and a head shaped like that of a horse

  They watched seahorses at the aquarium.

Plural same as singular. Common types: rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout. Related to salmon.

• a freshwater fish related to salmon, often caught for food and sport

  He caught a large trout in the stream.

Famous saying: "The world is your oyster" (from Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor). London's "Oyster card" is the contactless public-transit card.

• a marine mollusk with a rough irregular shell, some of which produce pearls and many of which are eaten as a delicacy

  They served raw oysters on ice.

From Greek oktopous (eight-footed). Plural can be "octopuses" or "octopi" (both accepted; "octopuses" is more etymologically correct since the word is Greek, not Latin).

• a sea creature with a soft body and eight tentacles

  The diver photographed a giant Pacific octopus.

The Great Barrier Reef (Australia) is the world's largest coral reef system, visible from space. Coral bleaching from climate change is destroying reefs worldwide.

• a hard substance formed from the skeletons of tiny sea animals

  They went diving to see the coral reef.

Famous: Japanese unagi (eel), British jellied eels. Electric eel: actually a knifefish. "Slippery as an eel" = evasive person.

• a long snake-like fish

  He served grilled eel for dinner.

Highly intelligent: second only to humans by some measures. "Dolphin-safe" tuna labeling. Famous: Flipper (TV series), bottlenose dolphins (most common).

• an intelligent marine mammal

  The dolphins followed the boat.

Named after the Mediterranean island Sardinia. "Packed like sardines": crowded together. Iconic canned food.

• a small oily fish often canned

  He opened a tin of sardines.

Often short for sea urchin. Street urchin is an old phrase for a poor child.

• a small spiny sea animal

  Sea urchins clung to the rocks.

• a small round sea animal covered with spines

  Sea urchins cling to rocks in tide pools.

• a large predatory freshwater fish with a long body and sharp teeth

  He caught a three-foot pike in the lake.

The 'l' is silent.

• a large edible fish with pink flesh, known for swimming upriver to lay its eggs

  We grilled fresh salmon for dinner.

Koi are an ornamental variety of carp.

• a large freshwater fish often kept in ponds and farmed for food

  He caught a huge carp in the lake.

Also called a 'sea star'; not a true fish. Can regrow lost arms.

• a star-shaped sea creature with five or more arms

  A starfish clung to the rock in the tide pool.

• a very large marine mammal with a streamlined hairless body, a horizontal tail fin, and a blowhole on top of the head for breathing

  We saw a whale breaching the surface.