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Scottish Natural Heritage

A flapper skate is measured for data before release off the west coast of Scotland. Flapper skates - whose population has been decimated due to overfishing - can reach 100kg, and 2 metres in length.

A flame shell uses its bright orange feeding tentacles to find a meal amid brittle stars in Loch Linnhe. The 1.6-inch-long (4-centimetre-long) mollusks hide inside nests, which they build from shells, stones, and other available materials, according to the Scottish Natural Heritage website.

A community of northern sea fans branch out along the seafloor off the Isle of Skye. The coldwater corals, which are found throughout western Scotland, provide habitat for juvenile marine creatures, such as fish and crustaceans, Robertson said. If the communities are damaged or removed, their absence could make the young animals more obvious to predators. (See coral reef pictures.)

At up to 20 inches (48 centimetres) long, the fan mussel (pictured) is Scotland's largest seashell species. Scientists discovered more than a hundred of the rare animals around the Small Isles —the largest aggregation yet found in U.K. waters. Fan mussels anchor their shell to the seabed using fine, golden threads, which kings have used to decorate their clothing. The mussels have thin, fragile shells that stick out of the seafloor, so they're easily harmed by fishing operations—especially trawling nets that scrape the bottom, noted Mike Robertson, senior marine ecologist for the Scottish government.

Though most northern feather stars live in deep waters, in Scotland they live in depths of only about 165 feet (50 meters). A "graceful and curious" animal, northern feather stars have ten long, slender arms that can be a variety of "beautiful" colors, including yellow, white, pinkish red, or red-and-white (such as the individual above near the Isle of Canna), according to the Scottish Natural Heritage website. However, the filter feeders, which grow in dense beds on the seafloor, are "very vulnerable" to trawling, said Mike Robertson, senior marine ecologist for the Scottish government.

Feathery, glowing polyps line the arms of a sea pen, while tiny white eggs dot its stalk. Each sea pen—named for its quill pen-like appearance—is made up of a colony of polyps, or small, anemone-like individuals, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In Scotland, sea pens are common in muddy areas along the coast, Robertson said.

A horse mussel.