Invertebrates

Invertebrates have No Backbone or Bony Skeleton. 
They range in size from microscopic mites to giant squid.

Invertebrates Include:

Arthropods – Segmented body, exoskeleton, paired appendages:
- Insects – 2 antenna, 6 legs, 3 body parts, sometimes wings: Ant, Butterfly, Bee
- Arachnids – 8 legs, 2 body parts, no wings: Tick, Spider, Scorpion
- Crustaceans – hard external shell that protects the body: Lobster, Crab, Limpet
- Myriapods – many legs and body segments: Centipede, Millepede
Annelids – long thin body divided into rings: Worm, Leech
Molluscs – soft body, muscular foot, no legs, sometimes a shell: Slug, Snail, Octopus, Clam
Echinoderms – spiny skin sea creatures: Starfish, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers
Cnidaria (Coelenterata) – soft body, stinging cells: Jelly Fish, Sea Anemone

Tide Pools

We’ve seen many an Invertebrate in Tide Pools…Crustaceans (Crabs, Barnacles), Molluscs (Mussels), Echinoderms (Starfish, Sea Urchins), Cnidaria (Sea Anemone). One of the best, was at the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, where we also got a great Tidepool Guide:

And while at Yaquina Head, we even got a great closeup of a Gumboot Chiton! Look for it!

Sea Anemones at Yaquina Head Tidepools (Mar 2019)
Sea Anemones & Sea Urchins at Yaquina Head Tidepools (Mar 2019)
Crab at Crescent City-Battery Point Tidepools (Jan 2020)
Snails at Cabrillo NM Tidepools (Feb 2020)
Crab at Cabrillo NM Tidepools (Feb 2020)
Snails at Cabrillo NM Tidepools (Feb 2020)
Barnacles? at Cabrillo NM Tidepools (Feb 2020)
Mussels, Starfish & Sea Anemone at Cape Blanco (Apr 2021)
Gumboot Chiton at Yaquina Head Tide Pools (Apr 2021)
Gumboot Chiton at Yaquina Head Tide Pools (Apr 2021)
Yaquina Head Tidepools (Apr 2020)
Sea Anemones, and others at Kalaloch Beach 4, Olympic NP (Jul 2021)
Sea Anemone at Yaquina Head Tidepools (Apr 2021)
Welk? at Yaquina Head Tidepools (Apr 2021)
Sea Anemones at Yaquina Head Tidepools (Apr 2021)

Land Molluscs – Slugs & Snails

Mark’s favorites! Slugs and Snails! Especially the Northwest Favorite…Banana Slug!

Snail, last wildlife sighting at MIlo McIver SP, OR (Apr 2019)
Slug on hike at Fort Columbia, WA (Apr 2019)
Slug on hike at Fort Columbia, WA (Apr 2019)
Slug on Quinault Rain Forest Nature Walk (May 2019)
Slug at Multnomah Falls on the Columbia, Oregon side (Aug 2019)
Slug at Latourell Falls on the Columbia, Oregon side (Jun 2021)
Snail at Willipa Bay Campsite (Sept 2021)
Slug on Hike around Coffenbury Lake at Fort Stevens SP (Sept 2021)
Snail on trail to Dunes at Umqua Lighthouse SP, Oregon (Mar 2022)
Slug on trail at Cape Perpetua, Oregon (Mar 2022)

Arthropods & Cnidaria

Here are some random Arthropods (Insects (including Butterflies!), Arachnids, & Crustaceans (just those not in Tide Pools, e.g. a crab on the beach!)

And some Cnidaria (only those not in Tide Pools, e.g. Jellyfish on the beach).

Butterflies!

Butterfly at Flume Gorge, VT (Jul 2011)
Butterfly at Flume Gorge, VT (Jul 2011)
Butterflies at Swift Current Lake, Glacier NP (Aug 2012)
Butterfly at St. John Lake, Glacier NP (Aug 2012)
Butterfly on hike in Shenandoah (Jun 2014)
Butterfly on the hike to Hog Canyon at Dinosaur NM (2022)
Butterfly at McKee Spring Petroglyphs at Dinosaur NM (2022)

Other Arthropods & Cnidaria

Crab on Short Sand Beach at Oswald West SP, OR (Apr 2019)
What IS this Bug we saw at Fleener Chimneys at Lava Beds NM (Oct 2019)
Bees on a flower at Tonto National Monument (Mar 2020)
Dead Jellyfish??? on a beach walk to Manzanita, OR (Sept 2020)
And what were THESE…Fast twitching little things seen on hike around Hall Lake @ Umqua Lighthouse SP (Mar 2022)
And what is this “bug” on the hike to Hog Canyon at Dinosaur NM (2022)
Mormon Crickets (actually Katydids) on Harper Corner Road at Dinosaur NM (2022)
Centipede or Millepede? on Chicken Creek Nature Trail at Fossil Butte (Jul 2022)