things with hard shells that live in the sand

[tiredfish]

on my recent trip to north myrtle beach i found thousands of these little things that when the tide goes back out to the ocean these things have tentacles that apperars to filter the water and once the water goes past them they burrow back underneath the sand. so..i took and dug one of them up..took it back to the condo and snapped some photos of them.if anyone can identify that would be sweet.

 

[WarOrks15]

ya i found tons of them when i was in nc. i think they are some sort of very large pod almost

 

[boardsurfer]

I don't know what the names of those are, but I use them all the time when I go fishing. Red Drum will tear them up!

 

[boardsurfer]

Ah, they are Mole Crabs. They are egg-shaped "sandbugs" that burrow in the sand below the splashing waves. It gulps up seawater & extracts plankton and algae as food. Its diminished legs, usually folded under the body, are adapted for tunneling downward & backward. Feathery antenna serve to clean body parts. They are favored prey for willets and seagulls.

 

[tiredfish]

kool thanx...very strange though.

 

[sicklidkid]

I have seen lots of them at the beach, we call them sandcrabs. Used to love to catch them as a little kid, not sure how they would work out in an aqurium.

 

[seafan]

Sand Fleas, A.K.A mole crabs, depending on if the have clwas or not. Awsome for pompano.

 

[tiredfish]

what is pompano?

 

[seafan]

Sand fleas also need a specialized surf aquarium to survive with lots of plankton, Not practical.