Haslemere Educational Museum
Natural History
Marine Life
This is a small collection of around 1,000 items with examples from across the globe. The Corals and Sponges Collection has many different varieties of all shapes, sizes and colours.In our Natural History Gallery displays several different types of sponge including Carpenter’s Glass Sponge, Horny Sponge and Pond Sponge in addition to corals such as the Mushroom Coral, Table Coral, Brain Coral and the Slipper Coral. In addition to the corals and sponges, this collection also includes Sea Urchins and Starfish such as the Great Cushion Star, Great Sunstar, Common Starfish and the Basket Star. We also hold a small variety of crustaceans The majority of the marine life is still being catalogued.
Highlight from the Collection
Giant Japanese Spider Crab
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| Giant Japanese Spider Crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) |
These are the largest crabs in the world. They can live for 20 years or more and can grow to have a leg span of over 3.5 metres. They live between 50-300 metres deep on the rocky sea floor off the coast of Japan. They move slowly over the ocean bed and eat molluscs, plants, algae and small fishes.
