Photo by
Steve
Hogan |
Feather Star - the feather starfish is an unusual species that
looks more like a plant than a starfish. It is nocturnal and a filter feeder.
At night, the Feather Star can be found in a current of water with its long
arms unfurled waiting for something yummy to float by. |
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Photo by
Steve
Hogan |
Sea Snake - Sea snakes are frequently seen resting motionless
on the sea's surface. It is not uncommon to find a live sea snake washed
ashore, or left stranded on the beach by a rapidly falling tide. One drop of
sea snake venom is reputed to have the potency to kill five men! |
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Photo by
Steve
Hogan |
Puffer
Fish - the Puffer fish gets its name from its ability to inflate itself
with water as a defense against being consumed by predators. The organs and
sometimes the flesh of certain puffers contain a deadly poison, tetrodotoxin.
From 1893 to 1963, there were 10,745 cases of puffer poisoning in Japan. Of
these, 6,386 were fatal! |
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Photo by
Steve
Hogan |
Marine Turtle - marine turtles
have lived in the oceans for over 100 million years. It is estimated that of
every 1000 baby marine turtles that enter the sea, only 1 or 2 will reach
maturity. The seven species of marine turtles alive today are all declining in
numbers. Five of the seven are listed as endangered! |
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Photo by
Steve
Hogan |
Potato Cod - named after the potato-shaped markings on its
body, the potato cod is one of the largest members of the groper family. Potato
cod, like most gropers, ambush their prey, waiting behind lumps of coral until
something tasty swims by. The potato cod's head and mouth are so large that it
can pull in its prey in one huge gulp! |
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Photo by Jeffrey
Jeffords |
Crown of Thorns Seastar - not just found in Australia, but in
Australia they are found on the Great Barrier Reef. These echinoderms (star
shaped animals) can occur in plague proportions, eating all live coral in their
path, and are drastically reducing the size and viability of Australia's Great
Barrier Reef. The Crown-of-thorns are most active in summer and are the only
known venomous sea star. The Crown-of-thorns starfish also has spines and these
are covered with skin filled with poisonous glands. . |
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Sea Otter - the sea otter
rarely leaves the water. It even sleeps there, anchored to a kelp bed. One of
the most striking characteristics of the sea otter is its ability - like that
of humans and chimpanzees - to use tools. On a large sea otter, there are an
estimated 650,000 hairs per square inch! |
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Photo by
Steve
Hogan |
White-tipped Reef Shark - the whitetipped reef shark grows to
a length of 5 feet, and can be identified by the white markings on the tips of
its fins. Whitetips will search every crack and crevice of the reef, even
breaking off coral heads to get their prey! Night hunters, whitetip reef sharks
prefer to stalk coral reefs for crab, lobster and bony fishes. Some whitetips
may return to the same cave or crevice everyday, sometimes for years!
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Octopus
- the octopus learns to solve problems by trial-and-error and experience. Once
the problem is solved, the octopus remembers and is able to solve it and
similar problems repeatedly. The female may lay more than 200,000 eggs. Most
females will not eat after laying eggs and die soon after the eggs hatch. Only
one or two out of 200,000 eggs will survive to become adults! |
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Jeweled Moray Eel - in it's reef environment, a moray eel is
considered a top predator. Moray eels, bottom dwellers, spend the day in reef
crevices with their heads exposed and emerge at night to forage over the reef
for food. Moray eels with pointy teeth feed on fish while species with shorter,
more rounded teeth feed on crustaceans. |
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Photo by
Graham Payne |
Soft Coral - note the fuzzy appearance of the branches of the
soft coral. This is caused by coral polyps, individual animals that make up the
coral colony. The coral polyp extends tiny tentacles into the water to catch
plankton, giving the coral its fuzzy appearance. The polyps' tentacles look
like the blossoms of flowers, but they are animals! |
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Manatee - manatees like
mild water temperatures and an abundant supply of fresh or saltwater grassbeds.
The manatee's closest relatives are the elephant and hyrax (a small, furry
animal that resembles a rodent). Manatees usually move so slowly, they actually
grow algae on their bodies! |
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Pink-tipped Anemone - a sea anemone is an extremely simple animal.
It may be thought of as a cylinder that is closed at both ends, which attaches
firmly to a solid object like a coral branch or rock. It is impossible to
determine the age of a sea anemone. Sea anemones are related to corals and more
distantly to jellyfishes. |
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Photo by
Barry
Smith |
Hard Coral - corals are the foundation of the reef. Corals are
living animals. They build a foundation of hard calcium rock that is the coral
reef. Other animals, like sponges, live on the reef. Many fishes eat corals,
live in the crevices of the coral reef, sleep under the ledges of the reef, and
depend on the healthy reef for their survival. Corals live in warm
oceans. |
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Photo by
Katherine Ahara |
Yellow
Tube Sponge - sea sponges come in a myriad of shapes and sizes and colors.
Sponges feed by filtering living and dead organic matter from the water.
Sponges do not have nerves or muscles, blood, a mouth or a digestive cavity.
Fossil evidence has led many scientists to believe sponges have remained
relatively unchanged since around 500 million years ago! The simplest sponges
can spontaneously reconstruct themselves after being torn apart into individual
cells. The cells move together and build a body much like the old one, but with
the individual cells in different places! |
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Minke Whale - the minke whale has a
remarkable song that sounds very mechanical
and which must have caused great problems for the military when they first
started to listen for submarines during the cold war. The minke is the whale
most likely to be seen from the shore. The natural life span of minke whales is
some fifty years. |
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Photo by
Katherine Ahara |
Sea Urchin - although a sea urchin looks round, closer
inspection reveals that it is nothing more than a starfish with its legs
wrapped inwards to form a sphere. Many of the urchins have developed extremely
sharp spines as a means of protection. The sea urchin's mouth contains five
teeth. Seaweeds are the preferred diet for most urchins. |
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Dolphin -
dolphins have to be conscious to breath. This means that they cannot go into a
full deep sleep, because then they would suffocate. Dolphins have "solved" this
by letting one half of their brain sleep at a time! The blowhole has to be
deliberately opened by muscles when the dolphin surfaces to breathe. Dolphins'
rib cages are collapsible for deep diving! |