The sanderling is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English sand-yrðling, "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific, alba, is Latin for "white".
The willet is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It is a relatively large and robust sandpiper and is the largest of the species called "shanks" in the genus Tringa. Its closest relative is the lesser yellowlegs, a much smaller bird with a very different appearance apart from the fine, clear, and dense pattern of the neck, which both species show in breeding plumage. It breeds in North America and the West Indies and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.
Ghost crabs are semiterrestrial crabs of the subfamily Ocypodinae. They are common shore crabs in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world, inhabiting deep burrows in the intertidal zone. They are generalist scavengers and predators of small animals. The name "ghost crab" derives from their nocturnality and their generally pale coloration. They are also sometimes called sand crabs, though the name refers to various other crabs that do not belong to the subfamily.
Emerita is a small genus of decapod crustaceans, known as sand crabs, or mole crabs. These small animals burrow in the sand in the swash zone and use their antennae for filter feeding.
Ocypode is a genus of ghost crabs found in the sandy shores of tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. They have a box-like body, thick and elongated eyestalks, and one claw is larger than the other in both males and females. They inhabit deep burrows in the intertidal zone. They are primarily nocturnal, and are generalist scavengers and predators of small animals. The genus contains 21 species.
Sand bubbler crabs are crabs of the genera Scopimera and Dotilla in the family Dotillidae. They are small crabs that live on sandy beaches in the tropical Indo-Pacific. They feed by filtering sand through their mouthparts, leaving behind balls of sand that are disintegrated by the incoming high tide.
Leptuca pugilator, the sand fiddler crab, Atlantic sand fiddler crab, or Calico fiddler, is a species of fiddler crab that is found from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico. It lives in burrows in coastal and estuarine mud-flats, and can be extremely abundant. It can be differentiated from the morphologically similar Minuca pugnax and Minuca minax by the smoothness of the inside of its claws. One claw is larger than the other, and can be much larger than the crab's body, at up to 41 mm (1.6 in) long.
As ocean surface waves approach shore, they get taller and break, forming the foamy, bubbly surface called surf. The region of breaking waves defines the surf zone, or breaker zone. After breaking in the surf zone, the waves continue to move in, and they run up onto the sloping front of the beach, forming an uprush of water called swash. The water then runs back again as backwash. The nearshore zone where wave water comes onto the beach is the surf zone. The water in the surf zone is shallow, usually between 5 and 10 m deep; this causes the waves to be unstable.
The Puerto Rican sand crab, Emerita portoricensis, is a species of "sand crab" belonging to the genus Emerita, which is native to the main island of Puerto Rico and its archipelago. This species has also been found on beaches off the coast of Venezuela. The most detailed study conducted on the species was done by Miguel P. Sastre between 1988 and 1992. This investigation determined that the species has diotic traits and that there are size and survival differences between sexes. Both sexes reach sexual maturity three months after birth.
Hippoidea is a superfamily of decapod crustaceans known as sand crabs or mole crabs.
Profilicollis is a genus of acanthocephalan parasites of crustaceans. The status of the genus Profilicollis has been debated, and species placed in this genus were formerly included in the genus Polymorphus. However, research on the morphology of the group and their use of hosts has concluded that Profilicollis and Polymorphus should be regarded as distinct genera, and species previously described as Polymorphus altmani are now referred to as Profilicollis altmani in taxonomic and biological literature. Profilicollis parasites infect decapod crustaceans, usually shore crabs, as intermediate hosts, and use many species of shorebirds as definitive (final) hosts.
The Atlantic ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata, is a species of ghost crab. It is a common species along the Atlantic coast of the United States, where it is the only species of ghost crab; its range of distribution extends from its northernmost reach on beaches in Westport, Massachusetts, south along the coasts of the tropical Western Atlantic Ocean to the beach of Barra do Chui, in Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.
Ocypode gaudichaudii, also known as the painted ghost crab or cart driver crab, is a species of crab found on Pacific beaches from El Salvador to Chile as well as on the Galápagos Islands. The species was first described by Henri Milne-Edwards and Hippolyte Lucas in 1843.
Hippidae is a family of decapod crustaceans, currently known by the English name as either mole crab or sand crab, and by an earlier English name as sand bug. They are closely related to the family Albuneidae, with which they are usually joined in the superfamily Hippoidea. The family Hippidae comprises the three genera Emerita, Hippa and Mastigochirus. They burrow into sand, and are found throughout the world, except the Arctic and Antarctic.
Emerita analoga, the Pacific sand crab, Pacific mole crab or coldwater mole crab, is a species of small, sand-burrowing decapod crustacean found living in the sand along the temperate western coasts of North and South America. It is found on exposed sandy beaches in the swash region of the intertidal zone.
Hippa is a genus of decapod crustaceans in the family Hippidae, containing the following species:
Emerita rathbunae is a species of "mole crabs" or "sand crabs" in the genus Emerita that lives along the tropical Pacific coasts of the Americas.
Albunea carabus is a rare species of "sand crab" or "mole crab" in the genus Albunea. It lives in shallow, turbulent waters in sandy areas of the tropical eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Hippa adactyla is a species of small, sand-burrowing decapod crustacean found living along the coasts of Indo-West Pacific waters. It is found on exposed sandy beaches in the swash region of the intertidal zone.
Leptuca panacea, commonly known as the Gulf sand fiddler crab or the Panacea sand fiddler, is a species of fiddler crab native to coastal habitats along the Gulf of Mexico from northwestern Florida to Mexico.
