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The common prawn is a familiar sight to anyone who has spent time exploring rockpools - particularly their characteristic quick dart into the darkness just as you spot them!

Did you know your seaside scampi was actually a kind of lobster? Traditionally so - although the scampi that is often eaten with chips can be anything from prawns to fish.

Hornwrack is often found washed up on our beaches, with many believing that it is dried seaweed. In fact, it is a colony of animals!

Ever spotted a honeycomb-like mound on the beach and wondered what it was? It's a reef built entirely by worms!

Despite appearances, this weird and wonderful creature is not a jellyfish! They're sometimes found washed up on our shores after westerly winds. Look but don't touch - they give a very nasty sting.

This strange furry creature often found washed ashore after storms is actually a kind of worm!

This worm builds its own home out of bits of shell and sand. It can be spotted on the shore all around the UK.

The ragworm is highly common on our shores, though rarely seen except by the fishermen that dig them up for bait.

The lightbulb sea squirt is common around much of the UK. Its easy to see where its name came from!

This sponge is found on rocky shores around the UK and looks like a thick bready crust (if you use your imagination a bit!).

This colonial creature looks like an old-fashioned quill - that's where the name sea pen comes from.

It's easy to see where the blue shark got its name from. These sleek, elegant sharks have beautiful metallic blue backs which provide brilliant camouflage out in the open ocean.