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This page serves as an entrance to a fascinating look at many of the marine invertebrates found in and near the Salish Sea, especially Puget Sound and the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Washington. Each species has a special page with its description, photos, and notes about its natural history plus observations we have made of the species. Most of the photos were taken of live animals, either in the field or in the lab on animals that were then returned to the field. I am a scientist and teacher, not a professional taxonomist and I have been known to mis-identify a species on occasion, so if you see something that needs to be corrected please contact me. My sincere thanks to the experts on various groups who have given me advice and helped with identification. You can also check out my main web page at http://people.wallawalla.edu/~david.cowles
If you know or think you know the group or name of your
species you
may quickly navigate directly to it by using the Alphabetic
or Systematic
indices; otherwise you
may use the dichotomous keys to find out what it is. Wherever
possible,
the keys are supplemented with definitions to terms and with pictures
of
relevant species and the parts being compared. You can also
go directly
to the glossary from nearly any page to look up other terms.
Alphabetic List of Species and Groups |
Illustrated Glossary |
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Systematic Index(Organized in Systematic order, alphabetically under phyla) |
Annotated Bibliography |
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Key to Species--Starting with Recognizable Group(Starts with Phylum, Class, or other recognizable group, which are listed alphabetically by phylum) |
Other Web Resources |
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Key to Groups of Invertebrates(Start here if you don't know what kind of animal it is or what group an animal is in) |
Content partner to the Encyclopedia of Life |
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What is the Salish
Sea and where is the
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Contributors to this Project |
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| Introduced
Species and Species of Concern in the Salish Sea (Covers only marine invertebrates) |
Send me Feedback(comments, corrections, observations, permission to use photos) |
|
| Instructions on how to use a dichotomous key | I've been interested in this for a long time! (photos) |
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The key currently contains more than 380 species in 17 Phyla, 76 Orders, and 84 Families.
Phylum Arthropoda: Crustaceans
and Chelicerates
Subphylum Chelicerata
Class
Pycnogonida: Pycnogonids, sea spiders
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Maxillopoda
Infraclass
Cirripedia: Barnacles
Class Malacostraca
Superorder Eucarida
Order Decapoda
Infraorder
Thalassinidea: Mud shrimp and ghost shrimp
Infraorder Anomura: Hermit crabs and other crablike species
Infraorder
Brachyura: True crabs
Natantia--shrimp
(Caridea) and prawns (Dendrobranchiata, Penaeida)
Infraorder
Caridea: Shrimp
Infraorder
Penaeidea: Prawns
Superorder Peracarida
Order
Amphipoda: Amphipods
Order
Isopoda: Isopods
Order
Lophogastrida: Lophogastrids--Deep-sea shrimplike
species such
as Gnathophausia
Order
Mysida: Mysids
Phylum Brachiopoda: Lampshells
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Urochordata:
Tunicates, salps, doliolids,
larvaceans
Class
Ascidiacea: Tunicates, sea squirts
Phylum Cnidaria:
Class
Anthozoa: Anemones, corals, sea pens
Class Hydrozoa: Hydroids,
siphonophores, hydrozoan
jellyfish
Hydromedusae
Hydroid
polyps (Order Hydroida have a well-developed polyp--most
colonial hydroids
are here)
Orders
Chondrophora/ Siphonophora (Siphonophores--pelagic, floating
or midwater
colonies with float or swimming bells)
(sub)order Stylasterina
(fire corals and their relatives)
Class
Scyphozoa: True jellyfish
Order
Semaestomae: Pelagic jellyfish
Order
Stauromedusae: Attached jellyfish
Phylum Ctenophora: Comb jellies
Phylum Echinodermata
Class
Asteroidea: Sea stars
Class
Crinoidea: Sea lilies and feather stars
Class
Echinoidea: Urchins and sand dollars
Class
Holothuroidea: Sea cucumbers
Class
Ophiuroidea: Brittle stars, basket stars
Phylum Echiura: Echiuroid worms, spoonworms
Phylum Entoprocta: Entoprocts
Phylum
Hemichordata:
Hemichordates
Class
Enteropneusta:
Acorn worms
Phylum
Mollusca:
Class
Bivalvia: Bivalves: Clams, mussels,
scallops
Class
Cephalopoda: Octopus and squid
Class Gastropoda: Snails and
nudibranchs
Subclass
Prosobranchia: Most marine snails with shells
Subclass
Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchs, etc.
Class
Polyplacophora: Chitons
Class Scaphopoda: Tusk shells
Phylum Nemertea: Ribbon or proboscis worms
Phylum Platyhelminthes: Flatworms
Class
Turbellaria: Freeliving flatworms
Phylum
Porifera:
Sponges
Class
Demospongiae (Most of our common sponges are here)
Phylum Sipuncula: Peanut Worms
This key has some real advantages over a normal printed key. First, it is web-based, and each choice is a link. That means you can quickly travel through the key, and even back up (by using your browser's back button) easily. Just click on the number after the correct choice and you will be taken to the next choice. It also has many definitions and illustrations throughout, so that you can easily see what terms mean or see special structures that are described.
Click here or use your browser's back button to return to the top of the page
Rosario
Beach Marine Laboratory,
a campus of Walla
Walla University,
has a central location in the Salish Sea. The laboratory is
on Fidalgo
Island, one of the San Juan Islands about halfway between Seattle, WA
and
Vancouver, BC. The laboratory borders Rosario
Strait. Puget
Sound and Hood Canal are to the south, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, San
Juan Islands, and Haro Strait are to the west, and the Strait of
Georgia
is to the northwest.
The station is dedicated to undergraduate and graduate studies in
biology,
especially of marine species and the marine environment.
Rosario Beach
Marine Laboratory
coordinates:
48 degrees 25 minutes 9
seconds North
122 degrees 39 minutes 49
seconds West
Click here or use your browser's back button to return to the top of the page
Page created by Dave Cowles, 6-2002
Edited by: Anna Dyer, 08-2002
Edited by: Melissa McFadden, 08-2002
Edited by: Dave Cowles, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011
Salish Sea Invertebrates web site provided courtesy of Walla
Walla University