ANNELIDA- phylum of animals that includes marine polychaete worms
ANTENNAE - appendages used as a sensory organs by many invertebrates
BALEEN -whalebone, the material in the mouths of some whales, which is used to strain food from the water
BARBELS -fleshy sensory appendages around the mouth of fishes such as nurse sharks, catfish and hake
BENTHIC -denoting animals and plants that live on the bottom of the ocean
BIVALVES -molluscan animals with two shells attached by a hinge, including clams, oysters and scallops
CALLOSITIES - white, crusty growths found on the heads of right whales
CALVES- young, immature whales
CARNIVORES - animals that only eat other animals
CARTILAGE - material that makes up the skeleton of sharks and their relatives
CEPHALOPODS - animals in the molluscan phylum that include squid and octopus
COPEPODS - tiny crustaceans, which make up a significant portion of the zooplankton community
CRUSTACEANS - the class of arthropods, which includes shrimp, lobsters and crabs
DECAPOD- crustacean animals with ten legs such as the shrimp
DEPOSIT FEEDER - animals that feed on decaying organic matter found on the bottom.
DETRITUS -decomposing plant and animal matter; an important food source for many animals
DORSAL -the upper surface of an animal or the surface where the spinal chord is located
ENDANGERED -designating plants and animals that are on the brink of extinction
EXOSKELETON -the outside skeleton or shell found on arthropods such as shrimp, crabs and lobsters
EXTINCTION - the total disappearance of a species of animal or plant
FILTER FEEDERS - animals, which eat by filtering small food particles from the water
FLIPPERS -modified legs of sea turtles used for swimming
FOOD CHAIN -the natural feeding sequence within a community from lower to higher trophic levels
GASTROPODS -molluscan animals with single-coiled shells such as conchs, whelks and snails
GILL SLITS -openings in the sides of sharks, which allow water to pass over their gills
HABITAT -the type of environment in which a particular group of animals or plants lives
HATCHLINGS - young, newly hatched sea turtles
HERBIVORES - animals that eat only plants
INVERTEBRATES - animals with no backbone or dorsal notochord.
JUVENILE-the immature phase of an animal
KRILL -small shrimp-like crustaceans often found in large schools in cool ocean waters
LATERAL LINE - a curved line of fluid-filled sacs located on the sides of fishes and used to sense vibrations in the water
MAMMALS -the class of vertebrate animals, including humans, that have hair, are warm-blooded and nurse young with mammary glands
MATRIX -the jelly-like substance containing the spicules and skeletal parts of a sponge
MELON -enlarged forehead of the toothed whales; which is used to detect underwater objects
ORGAN -a differentiated part of an organism that performs a specific function
PARAPODIA - fleshy leg-like appendages of marine worms
PELAGIC - living in the open ocean
PHYLUM -a large group of animals or plants related by a few common characteristics
PLANKTON -animals and plants, which drift with ocean currents - many are microscopic
POLYP -a cnidarian such as a hydra or anemone with a cylindrical body and tentacles for feeding
POD-a group of whales traveling together
PORPOISES- toothed whales related to dolphins and killer whales
PREDATOR - an animal, which kills other animals for food
PREY- animals caught and eaten by other animals
PROTOZOANS - simple, single-celled organisms such as amebas and euglenas
RAYS -relatives of sharks that are flattened dorso-ventrally for bottom-dwelling
SCAVENGERS - animals that eat dead, decaying animals
SCUTES -bony plates on the back of a turtle
SESSILE -plants or animals that permanently attach themselves to an object or surface
SKATES -relatives of sharks that are flattened dorso-ventrally for bottom-dwelling
SONAR -sound waves used to detect underwater objects
SPECIES -animals or plants that are the most alike in the classification system
SWIM BLADDER - an air-filled sack inside most bony fish that helps keep them afloat
TENTACLES - elongated appendages used for feeding by squid, anemones and jellyfishes
TISSUE- an aggregation of specialized cells with a similar function (e.g. brain tissue)
TORTOISE SHELL - material taken from the shell of hawksbill sea turtles used for making jewelry
VERTEBRATES - animals with backbones made of bone or cartilage