Chapter Two 

 SEA ANIMALS OF THE ATLANTIC COAST 



The marine animals of the Atlantic coast of 

 North America can be classified roughly speaking 

 by the zones or provinces in which they live. Obvi- 

 ously these zones are not separated from each other 

 by sharp lines, but nature has created a great many 

 factors that play a part in the distribution of sea 

 animals and no form of animal or plant life will 

 conform to arbitrary man-made laws or boundaries. 

 Certain of these zones are better differentiated than 

 others. So, while this grouping of animals into 

 regions is arbitrary and not always accurate, it does 

 serve as a convenience and is often of considerable 

 help to both the amateur collector and the student 

 of marine life. 



Perhaps the most important boundary is Cape 

 Cod. Aiiy visitor to the region will perceive the 

 considerable difference in ocean temperature north 

 and south of the cape. It has long been recognized 

 that the waters around Cape Cod were the meeting 

 place of two faunas, the Acadian from the north and 

 the Virginian from the south. It was once pointed 

 out that there is a greater difference between the 

 marine algae (seaweeds) of Massachusetts Bay and 

 Buzzards Bay which are just a few miles apart, the 

 former north of Cape Cod and the latter south of 

 it, than there is between the flora of Massachusetts 

 Bay and the Bay of Fundy, or between those of 



18 



