Anemones are voracious feeders that eat almost anything. Stinging cells (nematocysts) on their tentacles paralyze small prey animals. Anemones can even ingest small crabs and then spew out the shells.

These "sea slugs" eat hydroids and anemones, which are armed with nematocysts (stinging capsules). These nematocysts don’t harm the nudibranch; in fact, the animal transfers some of its prey’s unfired nematocysts to the tips of its own cerrata, where they become part of the nudibranch's defense system. Some experts believe that nudibranchs’ gaudy colors warn predators of these potent weapons.

For turtles, shells are natural suits of armor that protect them from predators. A black sea turtle’s upper shell (carapace) is steep sided, tear shaped and blackish with brown and yellow mottles. Its lower shell (plastron) is dark gray or gray green. Sea turtles can’t draw their arms, legs and heads into their shells, but their large size and scaly, tough neck skin also help protect them from predators.

Over millions of years, the forelegs of sea turtles have changed to flipper-shaped blades, which help them “fly” through the water—sometimes as fast as 15 miles (24 km) per hour. Sea turtles use their hind feet as rudders.

Instead of teeth, these turtles have sharp beaks, which allow them to cut and tear their food. Sea turtles can drink sea water because they have glands near their eyes that remove excess salt.

Anemonefishes need the protection they find in their anemones: the anemones' stings keep fish predators at bay, and an anemonefish never lives without its host anemone. The partnership may benefit the anemones, as well. They get scraps of food dropped by the anemonefishes as they eat. And the aggressive and territorial anemonefishes may defend their anemones by driving away butterflyfishes and other anemone-eating fishes.

Squat lobsters also hide under rocks to protect their bodies. Safe from hungry fishes, they wait for snacks to settle nearby—those claws are perfect for reaching out and picking up food.

Along with curling up in crevices and hiding under rocks, squat lobsters stake out their territory on sandy patches. They use their claws to scoop up sand and sift for sunken snacks.

Jellies are simple creatures with few specialized organs. Most jellies can detect chemical traces in the water that allow them to locate food, and many are equipped with a gravity-sensitive structure, called a statocyst, that gives them a sense of up and down in the water.

Curlews breed in grasslands and dry open prairies in the western United States and southern Canada. The nest is a scrape in the ground lined with grass, weeds and plant stems. Their clutch size is about four eggs. After the chicks hatch, the adults lead them to areas of denser grass, where they feed mostly on grasshoppers.

A mouth located on the bottom of the disc is well placed for eating bottom dwelling prey, but breathing through it would destroy a guitarfish’s delicate gills. Instead, guitarfish pump water in through holes (spiracles) on top of their heads, over the gills, and out through gill openings on the bottom of the disc.

Guitarfish lie in ambush buried in the sand with only their eyes sticking out, waiting for an unwary crab or flatfish to wander by. Suddenly the sand erupts, and the guitarfish gulps down its meal. At night, they leave the sand to actively cruise the seafloor to feed on crabs, worms, clams and, perhaps, fishes.