Garie Beach

What are those small creatures you find when you dig in the sand in California beaches?

Yo what up, When I was younger I went to beaches a lot in SoCal, mainly Pismo beach. A lot of us would dig around in the sand and pull up these small creatures ranging from .5 to 1 inch long. They were oval shaped and had small legs and eyes. Looked like miniature lobsters, but they didnt really have claws and weren't crabs. What are these?

Public Comments

1. Amphipods, a type of crustacean, commonly called "beach fleas".
2. Ampipods, beach fleas, sand fleas, mole crabs, bait, whatever you want to call them.
3. If they were gray in color and had orange insides then those were mole crabs or sand crabs. They are small crustaceans that burrow in the sand with a hard or sometimes soft exoskeleton.