I don’t know what made them, but I almost think they may have held pier pilings at one point. Some of the holes are almost perfectly round and much deeper than the others. I must try them at some point, if I come across them in an area that is not protected. Apparently, these are edible, but I’ve read mixed reports at to their taste and texture. Like the chiton, it is a mollusc and closely related to snails. High on the rocks are yet another shelled animal, the limpet. When detached, chitons protect themselves by rolling into a ball. If the bands remind you of an armadillo, you are not far off. Closely related to snails, they slide around on a muscular foot, foraging on the rock surface. Barnacles are crustaceans, so they are closely related to shrimp and crabs. They then draw the arm back into the shell, where the animal eats it. Barnacles feed by waving a sieve-like arm out through the hole in the center of the shell, trapping small bits of food in the water. This is a different species of barnacle, that produces a hard shell cemented to the rock. They are not usually found in the tidal pools themselves, but in the surf zone lower on the rocks that stays damp, even at low tide. The water in here is not connected to the ocean, and any animals here are easily seen until the high tide submerges the rocks once again.īarnacles and mussels are some of the most common animals on the rocks, although they prefer to stay wet most of the time.

The picture above shows some of the local tide poolers in action. Whole communities of animals live on the rocks here, and the best way to find them is when they are exposed in a tidal pool. The general idea behind tide pooling is that as the tide drops, pools of water become separated from the ocean, trapping animals. It’s a popular pastime here, although I am significantly older than the average tide pooler around here.

Since the Birch Aquarium is so close to La Jolla Shores, I like to go tide pooling in the afternoon, after my shift ends.

Tidal pool barnacle