| Phylum |
Genus/Species |
Description |
| Annelida |
Hyalinoecia tubicola |
Tube-dwelling polychaete that inhabits the shelf
break at depths >200 m |
| Pogonophora |
Siboglinum ekmani |
Tube-dwelling species found in deep water on the
continental slope and rise |
| Mollusca |
Thyasira spp.(cleftclams) |
Five species of small bivalves most commonly found in
offshore waters and in fine-grained bottom sediments |
| Lucinoma blakean[um](Blake lucine) |
Bivalve most common in outer continental shelf waters |
| Ensis directus(razor clam) |
Sand-dwelling species found in shallow inshore waters
and on the continental shelf |
| Polinices spp.(moon snails) |
Two species found on sandy sediments on the
continental shelf |
| Alvania spp.(alvanias) |
At least two species of small gastropods usually
associated with silt-clay bottom sediments, found on the continental shelf
and slope in Southern New England and on the slope further south |
| Arthropoda |
Ampelisca spp. |
Six species of tube-dwelling amphipods found inshore
and on the shelf, very abundant in some localities |
| Phoxocephalus holbolli |
Amphipod that characteristically inhabits fine sand
sediments on the continental shelf |
| Trichophoxus epistomus |
Widely distributed burrowing amphipod that inhabits
sand and silty sand sediments on the shelf |
| Cancer spp.(rock crabs) |
Two species that inhabit a variety of bottom
sediments throughout the Mid-Atlantic shelf |
| Echinodermata |
Echinocardium cordatum(sea potato) |
Burrowing heart urchin that usually inhabits sand
sediments in moderately shallow water, found only in the southern part of the
region |
| Astropecten spp. |
Two species of burrowing sea stars that are common in
silty sand bottom sediments on the northern half of the Mid-Atlantic shelf |
| Amphilimna olivacea |
Brittle star that inhabits moderately deep water in
Southern New England along the outer continental shelf and upper slope |