This crab is common around all of the UK. If you've ever been rockpooling or crabbing, it's probably the shore crab that you've met.

The large, dark grey water shrew lives mostly in wetland habitats. It's a good swimmer that hunts for aquatic insects and burrows into the banks.

This gentle giant is the largest shark in UK seas, reaching up to 12m in length. There's no need to fear them though, they only eat plankton!

This slender shark gets its name from the spines in front of its dorsal fin. It can use these spines to defend itself by curling in a bow and striking at a predator.

The diminutive common shrew has a distinctively pointy nose and tiny eyes. It lives life in the fast lane, eating every 2-3 hours to survive, and only living for a year or so. Look out for it in…

The diminutive pygmy shrew has a distinctively pointy nose and tiny eyes. It lives life in the fast lane, eating every 2-3 hours to survive, and only living for a year or so. Look out for it in…

This distinctive lark is a passage migrant and winter visitor to the UK, most often found along the east coast of Britain.

The mountain hare lives in the Scottish Highlands and the north of England. They are renowned for turning white in winter to match their upland surroundings.

The brown hare is known for its long, black-tipped ears and fast running - it can reach speeds of 45mph when evading predators.

The sea hare looks like a sea slug – but in fact has an internal shell. They can be up to 20cm long but are usually much shorter.

The stiff, spiky and upright leaves and brown flowers of hard rush are a familiar sight of wetlands, riversides, dune slacks and marshes across England and Wales.