Rocky shore

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Rocky shore is an intertidal area on seacoasts where solid rock predominates. Rocky shores are biologically rich environments, and make the ideal natural laboratory for studying intertidal ecology and other biological processes. An interesting example of a rocky shore is the tsingy outcrops on the west coast of Madagascar, where the rock formation is dramatic and often consists of one gigantic piece of rock. This formation occurs where the Madagascar dry deciduous forests meet the ocean. Rocky shores are areas of bedrock exposed between the extreme high and extreme low tide levels on the seashore.

New Zealand's rocky shores around the Auckland area are very interesting too. Many consist of rock pools created during the violent eruptions that formed it eons ago. Many species can be found there such as:

• Cushion star,
• Hermit crab,
• Rock crab,
• Cat's eye snail,
• Red beadlet anenome,
• Black nerita snail,
• Brown rock whelk,
• Kina (sea urchin),
• Eleven-armed sea star