1. Conch Shell - The conch is the common name applied to many species of mollusks. Most conchs live in colonies and are found in sand and grassy areas. They are sometimes called the sea cows of the shell world because they are herbivores, grazing on the algae and sea grass.

2. Scallop Shell- Scallops are one of the few bivalve shells that actually swim. This is accomplished by rapidly opening & closing their valves, sending the shell backward. Most species live in tropical waters, but several live in polar waters. Each half or valve of a scallop features a different coloring/design. The muscle is the part consumed by humans.

3. Ark Clams - Ark Shells number about 200 in species and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The outer skin of the Ark Shell acts as a camouflage matching the surroundings of its environment looking like stones on the bottom of the water. Ark shells are commonly used as bait as well as food throughout the Caribbean.

4. Whelk Shell - This large family of 800 species worldwide live in shallow waters and in mud flats. The Whelk is an active predator, and pries open a clam or oyster shell by surrounding it with its muscular foot. Tropical whelks tend to be small and are often brightly colored or covered with rows of fine beads.

5. Top Shell - This family includes around 180 species found throughout the world. Tops vary in size and color, but all have a pyramidal shape. They are found in tidal rock pools as well as deep ocean depths and feed on seaweed and sponges.

6. Cone Shell - Occupants of warm shallow waters, there are between 400 to 500 species of known cone shells. Although they vary greatly in size and color, all are similar in their distinctive cone shape. Most cones eat other mollusks, but a few evolved species hunt fish.

7. Clam Shell - Clam shells consist of a wide variety of bi-valve shells in many shapes and sizes. Some are edible and some produce pearls. Most live in shallow waters and the species can be found in either fresh or salt water.

8. True Oyster Shell - Edible oysters are the most commonly known throughout the world as a popular source of seafood. Their shell is porcelaneous and the pearls produced from these edible oysters have little value. Other types of oyster shells include the p earled oyster shells, thorny oyster shells, and jingle shells.

9. Moon Shells - These moderately sized shells belong to a family group numbering several hundred species. Exquisitely patterned, these shells can be found around the world. Moon snails are also known as whale or shark eyes because of the dark spot in the center of the shell.

10. Sundial Shells - This small family features a rather flattened shell with either beaded or smooth surfaces. The bottom of the shell is concave and resembles a staircase. The top of the shell has a pattern that resembles a pinwheel. The overall design is one of the most intricate in the shell world.

Great White Shark - Watch Shark movie here
Solitary Leviathans
Great white sharks are an enigma, as scientists are still trying to unravel the mysterious lifestyle of these denizens of the deep. They are solitary creatures roaming the ocean in constant search of food. Scientists are still unsure how to tell the age of a great white shark or how long they live, how often and where they breed, and how quickly they grow.

It is widely held among shark experts that the great whites take a long time to reach the fearsome proportions of record and that over fishing of these incredible creatures has led to a rapid decline in their numbers. No one knows how long it would take for the world's great white shark numbers to rebound if we were to completely halt fishing of this species. We are now beginning to realize the important role they play in their ecosystem, eliminating the weak and the sick from their environment and keeping seal and sea lion numbers in check. Lack of great white sharks to control the sea lion population may be one of the contributing factors to the declining salmon populations along the coast of California and Oregon.

Dolphin pods rely on socialites to keep them together. Without these individuals, the cohesion of the dolphin group may fall apart. This may mean that capturing wild dolphins for marine parks could have a serious impact on their companions left behind.

Spins

Spinner dolphins are aptly named for their above-water actions. They can leap into the air and make as many as seven complete spins before diving back into the ocean again. In Hawaii, the spotted dolphins can leap higher (we've had them jump high enough to be at eye level to us in a vessel's tuna tower!) than a spinner, but except for the Clymene dolphin, no other dolphins spin (naturally anyhow).

The spinner dolphins usually perform a series of spins, each spin tending to be made with less energy, finally finishing up with an emphatic side slap. The power of the spin comes from the tremendous acceleration under the water and the torque of the tail just as the dolphin breaks the surface. The aftermath of the spin - the sound of the slap, the splash on the surface, and the dense bubble cloud underwater, which even distant dolphins can pick up through their echolocation may be the real purpose of the spin.

Spinner dolphins maximize the effect of this splash by twisting around to land in a belly-flop, or back-flop. Spins are most frequently performed while the school is spread out across the water. A spinning dolphin may be signaling to the others: "here I am - here is where I am going..." The effect of many dolphins spinning and leaping at once, defines what scientists call the envelope of the school - that is, its size, direction, and speed of travel.

Why Do Spinner Dolphin's Spin?

From our underwater observations, the spin seems to be an emotional "exclamation point" to whatever action happened just before the spin. It can accent any emotion from "I'm really happy that just happened" to a stern "listen to me now!" It may also be a teaching (or learning) demonstration, or simply, "I am a spinner, therefore I spin." Interestingly, the textbook reason is to "rid themselves of parasites." We also find this to be true. Watch this little spinner dolphin calf spin (four rotations!) to rid himself of the remora skimming around his shoulder region. (The video works in Windows Media Player.)

Spinning may also serve as a courtship display, or to eject water from the upper respiratory tract, reset organs of balance, help mix fluid in the gut and venous reservoirs, or simply be for fun. It might also be important to spinner dolphins' thermal budget since core and subcutaneous temperature are highest when the dolphins are spinning.

The open ocean can be a terrifying place. Miles from shore on storm-tossed seas, with nothing but water in all directions-including straight down-a sailor or fisherman cannot help but wonder what lurks in the depths. When the oceans were still unexplored, these fears often took the form of imaginary monsters.

Many sea monsters include features from living animals. A large tentacle becomes part of a monstrous sea serpent or many-armed kraken: the eye sees a fragment, the mind fills in the rest. A blend of tall tales, mistaken identity and resonant cultural symbols, stories of sea monsters often reveal more about the minds of the imaginers than they do about the natural world.

"It was a giant squid twenty-five feet long. It was heading toward the Nautilus, swimming backward very fast%u2026.We could clearly make out the 250 suckers lining the inside of its tentacles, some of which fastened onto the glass panel of the lounge. The monster's mouth-a horny beak like that of a parakeet-opened and closed vertically%u2026 What a whim of nature! A bird's beak in a mollusk!"

-Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, 1870

Many-armed monster

The mythical kraken may be the largest sea monster ever imagined. Some stories described it as more than 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) around with arms as large as ship's masts. Perhaps based on sightings of giant squid tentacles, this multi-armed monster rarely attacked humans, preferring to stay in deep water where it feasted on fish. The chief dangers came from being too close when it surfaced-or too close when it sank, as a boat could be sucked down in the whirlpool created when it submerged.

Described in Scandinavian stories dating back to about AD 1180, the kraken was said to live near Norway and Iceland.
long, flexible arms or tentacles like those of a giant squid or octopus
limbs so large they looked like a ring of islands
ate huge quantities of fish, which it lured with an enticing smell; fisherman would rush over, hoping to snare a share of the kraken's catch
When a kraken surfaced, a shimmering cascade of fish might be seen tumbling down its back.
SO THEY SAY

"Below the thunders of the upper deep
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth%u2026
There hath he lain for ages and will lie%u2026
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die."

--Alfred, Lord Tennyson, British poet (1809-1892)