New Zealand Rocky Shore

Rocky shores are unique and special marine habitats. They support a huge diversity of life; examples of almost every animal group can be found here.

 

Life on the rocky shore is not easy; with the rise and fall of the tide the animals and plants are exposed to the air, and then covered by water again. Each time the tide goes out it leaves behind a layer of food on the rocks. On its return, the sea is rich with millions of tiny plants and animals (plankton) feeding the larger animals of the rocky shore.

 

Salinity, water, wave action, competition and predation are all factors affecting survival chances on the rocky shore. All exhibits in our rocky shore come from Hawke Bay, many donated by professional and recreational fishers. (Hawke Bay is the marine area; Hawke’s Bay is the land.)

 

These have nerve fibres, which co-ordinate contractions of their muscles but they have no brain or nerve cords. They eat solid food and can walk slowly on the foot

of the stem that anchors them securely to a rock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kina (Sea Egg) (Evechinus chloroticus) 

A popular food of Maori people. Among its long, brittle spines are bloodred, flexible tube feet that are used to grip the surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nudibranch (Sea Slug) (Glossodoris amoena)

Size: 58mm

White with orange spots. Found around rock

pools along our coasts.

 

 

 

 

Seven-Armed Starfish (Astrostole scabra)

Size: up to 50cm

Like most starfish, if an arm is lost it has the ability to grow a replacement from the stump. New Zealand’s largest and most voracious starfish. Blueishgrey with brilliant orange tube feet.

 

 

 

Cushion Star (Patiriella regularis)

Size: to about 10 cm

Shaped and coloured like a fancy biscuit. Common on sandy beaches south of Napier.

 

 

 

Size: up to 28cm

The inside flesh is a delicacy. The shell has a curved row of holes on the outside, the interior is used to make jewellery. Paua live on rocks but it is illegal to take Paua of less than 125 mm.

 

 

 

 

Size: about 15 cm

Common on sandy beaches and burrow backwards into sand, leaving their eyes protruding. Eats shellfish and pipi.

 

 

 

 

Hermit Crab  (Maori: Papaka moke)

Will inhabit an empty spiral shell as a temporary home until it outgrows the shell and seeks a new one.

 

 

Crayfish  (Maori: Koura papatea)

Colour varies between red, purple or orange but turns red when cooked for eating. A second species, the Packhorse (Jasus hugelii) is greener in colour and less spiny. Omnivorous and scavengers. Female carries eggs beneath her tail. Larvae are pelagic, associating them with open water or ocean.

 

 

 

 

Mussel (Maori: Kuku) (Perna canaliculus)

Perna canaliculus is a large greenish mussel found abundantly in the North Island. In the South Island the common species is the small bluish-black Mytilus aoteanus.