Oceans and Seas
The Different Types of Life
By: Jacob Padilla
Stingrays & Rays
Manta Ray: Found in warmer parts of the Pacific Ocean.
These creatures can have an amazing wingspan of 15 feet,
and are very beautiful and graceful underwater. This
animal also has a nickname, the devil ray. But this species
is harmless to humans, and it doesn’t even have a stinger.
Southern stingray: Found commonly on the Atlantic Coast
of America.
This species of stingray has 2 barbs on its tail, which can
deliver a sharp sting if stepped on. This stingray is a bottom
feeder, which means that it lays on the ocean floor waiting
for something to come by, then snatches it up.
Blue spotted stingray: These stingrays are found thorough the
red sea and Southern Australia.
These animals are a very liked aquarium pet, with it being
relatively small and having beautiful spots on its back. These
stingrays eat mainly small crabs, mollusks, and prawns.
Marine Reptiles
Green Sea Turtle: Found off the coast of Florida.
The green sea turtle is an endangered species, and protection efforts
on their birthing sites have helped them with a comeback. It ranges
to 36-43 inches in length, and can be recognized by the pattern on its
shell. Mainly eat sea grass and algae, which gives them their green
color.
Leatherback Sea Turtle: Commonly found in most of the worlds
oceans, also endangered.
These turtles are the largest of the sea turtles, being about 6 feet in
length. This turtle gets its name from its leathery back. Instead of
scales, this turtle has a rubbery back. It eats jelly fish, and sometimes
it mistakes plastic bags for jelly fish and when it eats it, it chokes and
dies.
Marine Iguana: Lives only in the Galapagos islands and Ecuador.
This animal isn't really a marine reptile, but spends a notable
amount of time in the water. Over many generations, this iguana is
able to dive into the water to get some algae that grows under the
rocks.
Reef fishes
Regal Tang: found in Ido-Pacific, from Japan to east Africa.
This fish can grow up to about 10 inches, and is commonly
called the hippo tang. This fish is characterized by is
contrasting black and neon blue colors. They eat algae and
invertebrates for their main diet.
Queen Angelfish: found throughout the western
Atlantic.
Considered the most beautiful angelfish, and a baby can
be mistaken for a juvenile blue angelfish. These fish are
grazers, eating sponges, corals, and algae.
Fire Fish: These fish are commonly found throughout the
Indo-Pacific.
The fire fish is identified by their unusually bright colors and
long dorsal fin. They use this dorsal fin to communicate with
other fire fish and get away from predators by squeezing
into small spaces. These fish mainly eat crustacean larvae
and zoo plankton.
Dolphins & Whales
Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin: Found commonly on the
shoreline, but live everywhere but polar regions.
The bottlenose dolphin is the most commonly known of all
the dolphins, theses mammals are believed to be very smart,
with a brain the size of ours, and have saved humans before.
They eat small fish, shrimps and crustaceans.
Humpback Whale: Lives almost everywhere, except for
the polar regions, found in shallow waters.
This whale was almost hunted to extinction, but has made
a comeback over a few years. These huge whales can grow
to be 60 feet in length. They mainly eat Plankton, and are
very famous for their underwater “song” as it is called,
and it can be heard for hundreds of miles across the sea.
Killer Whale: these animals tend to live everywhere, but
prefer cooler and costal regions.
These animals are very famous, having been in movies, and
are usually a performance at a water park, like SeaWorld
(Shamau). These animals eat fish, squid, seals, sea lions,
penguins, dolphins, and porpoises.
Echinoderms
Purple Sea Urchin: Found along coasts of America and Canada
clinging to depressions during low tide.
This sea urchin is one of the sharp-spined sea urchins. These
spines are used to warn off predators that would eat them. It
can be identified by its purple color, and grows about 4 inches
in diameter.
Cushion Star: Found in the Atlantic sea on the bottom, range
from South Carolina to Florida.
This star fish ranges from brown, red, orange and yellow in
color. It is very popular among seashell collectors, because it
tends to have a hard shell. It grows usually about 10 inches in
diameter.
Pacific Starfish: Found along the western coast of America
and Canada.
It can be red, purple, orange, or purple, and has a diameter
of about 8 inches. This star fish ca be found under rocks
where it eat its main diet, algae and sponges.
Corals
Brain Coral: Very common throughout the Bahamas,
Florida waters, and the Caribbean.
It measures usually 4 feet in diameter, and is called brain
coral due to the brain like pattern on its back. There are
about seven species of these corals.
Bubble Coral: Commonly found throughout Indo-Pacific
and Australia.
The bubble coral has its name because during the day its
sacks, or “bubbles”, expand, collecting sunlight that is
needed for its growth. At night tentacles come out of the
sacks to feed.
Sea Mats: Found on rocks and dead corals in Bahamas
and West Indies.
This coral is actually a small anemone coral like polyp
that grows in large colonies on the sea floor. Each bit is
only ¼ inches in diameter, but a colony can have an area
of several square feet.
Sharks
Great White Shark: Found commonly in Pacific Ocean.
These sharks are one of the most feared of all the
sharks. This animal can grow up to over 25 feet in
length. They mainly eat sea lions and other marine
mammals. Due to human fear, a lot of these sharks
have been killed.
Tiger Shark: These sharks love to live near the coastline,
but can also be found in open water.
This shark comes second in most feared sharks after the
great white, with it growing usually up to 16 feet in
length. It gets its name from the stripes on its body, and
it also has a blunt head. These sharks will eat almost
anything, including other bull sharks.
Whale Shark: This shark can be found through most of the
worlds tropical and temperate ocean regions.
This shark is the one of the largest shark species in the world,
and is actually the biggest fish in the world, with it being able
to grow up to 40 feet. These humongous sharks actually don’t
eat big fish, but tiny organisms called plankton.
Unique Fish
Leafy Sea Dragon: Found in the western and southern
Australia.
The leafy sea dragon is actually a species of seahorse,
but it has evolved so it looks like there is seaweed
growing out of them. These fish feed mainly on small
shrimp, plankton, and algae.
Spotfin Lionfish: these fish seem to usually live in
wrecks and darker parts of reefs, and sometimes
harbors as well.
These fish are very beautiful but are also deadly. Their
spines on their back and fins are coated in deadly
poison. These fish usually eat small fish or crustaceans.
Trumpet Fish: Found commonly in the Caribbean and
Gulf of Mexico.
These fish can be characterized by their long nose
and because they sometimes swim vertically, so they
can get their nose into rocks and corals to suck out
their prey. These fish mainly eat small fish and
invertebrates.
Sponges
Tube Sponge: This sponge is found in most warm areas of the ocean.
One of the most common sponges found in coral reefs, you can classify
it by its long, tube shapes on its body. It can be purple, blue, grey, and
grey-green. This sponge is one of the few coral reef invertebrates that
can be blue in color.
Vase Sponge: Found commonly around the Caribbean and East coast of
Florida.
This sponge is characterized by its bell like structure, and a deep middle
hole. This sponge can grow up to two feet high, and three feet wide.
This sponge can be brown, purple, and red. You can find it attached to
rocks near the sandy bottom of where you are.
Red Tree Sponge: Very commonly found throughout the Caribbean
sea.
This sponge can be 8 inches in length, and is red. This sponge is a
very popular aquarium sponge, and survives fairly well in a marine
aquarium.
Thank you for watching my presentation
I hope you enjoyed it!
http://www.seasky.org/reeflife/sea2g.html