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PA N O R A M A S
OCEAN LIFE
P A N O R A M A S
OCEAN
Orpheus
Published by Orpheus Books Ltd., 6 Church Green, Witney,
Oxfordshire OX28 4AW England
Copyright ' 2006 Orpheus Books Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Created and produced by Julia Bruce, Rachel Coombs, Nicholas Harris,
Sarah Hartley and Jennifer Johnson, Orpheus Books Ltd.
Text by Nicholas Harris
Illustrated by Betti Ferrero, Gary Hincks, Ian Jackson, Eric Robson,
Peter David Scott and David Wright
Printed and bound in Malaysia
ISBN 1 905473 09 5
Lobsters(right)crawlalong the sea bed inshallow waters. They usetheir claws to grab fishand shrimps and to digfor clams and urchins.Their claws are verypowerful and can crush
The hammerhead shark?s(right)eyes and nostrils arefound on either side of its veryoddly shaped head. The widehead may increase its ability tosee and smell. Although itsometimes attacks humans, it
Giant squid(above)can change their colourin seconds to scare offpredators. They are the most
intelligent of all invertebrates(animals without backbones). Giant squidcan grow up to 20 metres long. Theirstreamlined bodies enable them to glide
Common dolphins (above)live inlarge groups or schools. Theywork together to hunt fish, andbunch up tightly for protection ifdanger threatens. Dolphins arevery agile and energetic. Theycan often be seen riding the
Seahorses(left)curl their tailsaround sea grassstems to stopthemselves being sweptaway in strong currents.The female seahorse laysher eggs into a pouch on
ATLANTICOCEAN
NORTHAMERICA
SOUTHAMERICA
AUSTRALASIA
PACIFICOCEAN
WARM CURRENTCOLD CURRENT
SOUTHCHINASEA
EAST SIBERIANSEA
SEA OFOKHOTSK
BAFFINBAY
HUDSONBAY
CARIBBEANSEA
GULF OFMEXICO
BERINGSEA
OCEAN CURRENTSThe ocean waters swirl around the Earth. Heatedby the sun, surface waters flow from the warmtropics towards the icy polar regions. As theyso, colder currents move in to take their placeWinds that blow over these ocean currents carrytheir warm or cool temperatures to the nearbylands. The Gulf Stream, which flows north from
54
4 The Oceans
6 Surface Waters
7 Ocean Depths
12 Polar Waters
14 Amazing OceanCreatures
15 Ocean Giants
20 Ocean Travellers
22 Glossary and Index
CONTENTS
O CEAN WATERS cover nearly three-quarters of our planet?s surface. There
are five great oceans: in order of size, thePacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern andArctic Oceans.
THE OCEANS
ATLANTICOCEAN INDIAN
OCEAN
AFRICA
ASIA
EUROPE
ARCTIC OCEAN
SOUTHERN OCEANThe Southern Ocean surrounds thecontinent of Antarctica. More than half ofthis ocean freezes over each winter.Icebergs, which break off from the
ARABIANSEA
BARENTSSEA
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
GULF OFGUINEA
NORWEGIANSEA
BAY OFBENGALANTARCTICA
SOUTHAMERICA
SOUTHERNOCEAN
SOUTHERNOCEAN
AUSTRALASIA
AFRICA
PLANKTON
ZOOPLANKTON
Flying fish skim the surface of thewater, gliding for distances of upto 100 metres. Their wings areactually long, taut fins. They flyescape predators in the water,making them a target for birds.
Many whales and dolphins leapout of the water. This is knownas breaching. Some smallerkinds can go very high and
OCEAN FLYERSAND LEAPERS
PLANKTONThe plants of the ocean are not li
those on land. Called plankton,they are microscopic in sizeand float around in thesunlit waters. Microscopicanimals, calledzooplankton, feed onthem. The most commonkind of zooplankton are
tiny shrimp-like animalscalled copepods. The young of
fish and crabs are also kinds of
MAGNIFICENTFRIGATEBIRD
BOTTLENOSEDOLPHIN
FLYING FISH
6 1
SURFACE WATERS
M ANY BIRDS catch their food fromthe surface waters of the ocean.
The tropic-bird and booby plunge intothe water itself. Air trapped in thefeathers of these diving birds enablesthem to rise to the surface quickly andfly away with their catch. Other oceanbirds, such as the albatross, snatch fishfrom the surface with their beak orclaws.Some creatures live half above and
half below the water. The upper part ofa Portuguese man-of-war is like a sac
RED-TAILEDTROPIC-BIRD
PORTUGUESEMAN-OF-WAR
WANDERINGALBATROSS
BROWN BOOBY
1
OCEANDEPTHS
CORAL
REEF
Coralcan
grow
in
shallow
waters
along
tropical
coastsaround
the
world.
Sometimes
it
forms
great
underwater
banks,
called
coral
reefs.
Coral
comes
inmany
fantastic
shapes
and
colours.
Many
colourful
animals
live
on
or
near
the
reefs.
Some
fish,
such
astheparrotfish,
usetheir
DEEP-SEA
CREATURES
Belowabout3000mthe
waterisasblackasnight
andicycold.Howdo
animalssurviveatthis
depth?Asteadysupplyof
foodrainsdownfromabove
intheformofdecomposing
partsofdeadanimalsand
plants.Scavengerslivingin
deepwatersfeedonthese
remainsandotheranimals
feedonthem.Some
creatures,likethe
hatchetfishorlanternfish,
traveltotheupperlayersof
theoceantofeedandmay
besnappedupasfood
themselvesontheway
CHAMPION
Thespermwhaleisknown
todivedeeperthan
1000mbutitcan
probablygotodepthsof
morethan3000min
searchofitsfavourite
prey,giant
squid.The
spermwhale
canspendup
totwohours
underwaterbefore
returningtothesurfaceto
breathe.
Sea
lev
Dept
h
KEY
1Starfish
2Zebralionfish
3Damselfish
4Seahorse
5Parrotfish
6Angelfish
7Barracuda
8Clownfish
9Butterflyfish
10Pufferfish
11Morayeel
12Leopardshark
KEY
13Beaked
whale
14Octopus
15Oarfish
16Sperm
whale
17Giant
squid
18Gulper
eel
19Anglerfish
20Viperfish
21Hatchetfish
22Chimaera
23Tripodfish
24Sea
spider
PORTUGUESE
MAN-OF-
BLUE-FOOTED
BOOBY
FLYING
FISH
STINGRAY
SHORE
CRAB
OYSTERCATCHER
BANDED
SEA
SNAKE
GREEN
TURTLE
23
4
6
89
7
5
10
1211
BRITTLESTARS
SEACUCUMBER
SEAURCHIN
13
14
1615
17
1819
20
21
22 23
24
14 INTHE
Someoftheanimalsthat
liveatthebottomofthe
oceanareattachedtothe
oceanfloorandlookmore
likeplants.Afewcreatures,
likeseacucumbersand
brittlestars,creepabout
searchingfordeadanimal
remainsinthemud.
Deathlywhiteseaspiders
picktheirwayacrossthe
mud.Theyfeedbysucking
MOSTocean
life
is
found
near
the
surface,
where
sunlight
can
easily
pass
through
thewater
allowing
plankton
(tiny
plants)
to
grow.
Many
animals
feed
on
plankton.
Below
200
metres
only
alittle
light
can
get
through
and
fewer
animals
live
here.
Some
of
these
creatures
travel
to
and
from
the
surface
to
feed.
8 9 1
FLOUNDER
Dept
h
Dept
h
Depth
1000
Depth
3000
Depth
5000
THE WATERS of the Arctic Oceanare among the coldest in the
world. Some ocean animalsmigrate to warmer places inwinter. Others stay and try to findenough food to survive untilspring.The walrus is well-equipped for
life in such a freezing climate. Itsmassive body is covered withtough skin. Underneath, there is athick layer of fat, calledblubber, that protects theanimal from the cold.The bearded seal, so-called because of thelong bristles on itssnout, stays in the
POLAR WATERS
The narwhal, a kind ofwhale, is one of thestrangest-lookingcreatures in Arctic waters.The males have a spirallingtusk which is actually oneof their two teeth. Theymay use it as a sword tofight other males to winfemales. Narwhals feed on
UNICORNOF THE
WALRUS
BEARDED SEAL NARWHAL
BELUGAWHALE
POLAR BEAR
POLAR BEARThe polar bear is the largest member ofthe bear family. Adult bears roam theice alone, and often swim from one areaof ice to another. Strong claws and haion the soles of their feet give them agood grip on the slippery ice. Thebears? thick fur keeps them so warmthat they sometimes have to jump intothe freezing water to cool off!With their white coats, polar bears a
well-camouflaged in the snow and ice.This is particularly useful for huntingseals. Bears sometimes take seals bysurprise as they rest on the ice. Theyalso hunt by lying silently in wait at
WHITE WHALEThe beluga whale is born dark grey, butturns white by the time it is 10 yearsold. It is known for its songs, includiclicks, squeaks, whistles and mooingsounds. Its enemies are killer whales
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M ANY ocean creatures may lookextraordinary to us, but the colours,
shapes or other distinctive features theyhave are there to help them to survive.Their sharp spines or powerful venom,for example, may give them protectionagainst predators or equip the animals
to be dangerous predatorsthemselves.
AMAZING OCEAN CREATURES
PIPEFISHThe harlequin ghost pipefish(above)is covered in bony plates. Thisrelative of the seahorse iscamouflaged to look like a piece ofcoral, making it difficult to spot byattackers. It feeds onzooplankton and shrimps,
SEA SLUGUnlike its landrelatives, the sea slug(right)is very brightlycoloured. But bewarned, thisanimal isdeadlypoisonous! Thedelicate tufts on itsback are the stingingparts that once belongedto a jellyfish or seaanemone. The sea slug
STARFISHThe starfish(above)has neitherhead nor brain. Its mouth is inthe centre of its body. Its spinskeleton is on the outside. Thestarfish creeps slowly along thesea bed in search of its prey.Using the suckers on its arms, ifastens on to a tightly-closedclam shell and gradually prizesopen. Then it feeds on the flesh
STRIPED BURRFISHThe striped burrfish(right)hunts for shellfish,barnacles and crabs toeat. It uses its spines fordefence. If a bigger fishthreatens to eat it, theburrfish immediatelyswallows huge mouthfuls ofwater and blowsitself up to thesize of afootball, with itsspines sticking
POISONOUS
LIONFISHThe zebra lionfish(above)may look very beautiful,but those spiny fins aredeadly to touch. Each fincontains enough lethalvenom to kill its prey.Lionfish hunt in groups,
COWFISHThe thornback cowfish(below)isbuilt like a tank! Its body is reallyjust a bony box with holes for its
eyes, mouth and fins. Its skin ishighly poisonous. Its horns
Jellyfish are more than 95% water. Theyhave no heart, bones, brain or even realeyes. The most venomous creature onEarth is the box jellyfish.Just a touch of itspowerful stingingtentacles can killa person in fourminutes. Thelargestjellyfish,thelion?s mane, has tentaclesmore than50 m long.
1 1
THE OCEANS are home to thegiants of the animal kingdom:
the whales. The water supportstheir enormous bodies, allowingthem to move freely in search offood. With their long, sleek bodies,fins, flippers and tails, some whaleslook quite similar to fish,particularly sharks. They are notfish at all, however, but mammals.Like humans, they must breatheair, they are warm-blooded and themothers nurse their young. Theybelong to a group of mammals
called the cetaceans (the groupalso includes dolphins andporpoises). The cetaceans are theonly mammals tospend their entirelives in the water.Instead of thickcoats of hairto keepthem warm,they havethick layers offat, calledblubber, beneath
OCEAN GIANTS
MANTA RAY6.7 m wideSkates and rays are relatives ofsharks. The largest of the rayfamily, the manta, is dark grey
or black on its topside andwhite on its underside.
It swims byflapping itshuge wings ,often atgreatspeed. It
can even
PACIFIC OCTOPUSArm span up to 9 mOctopuses have eightsucker-covered armswhich they use to clamberabout the oceanfloor and occasionally
swim insearch of
crabs
and lobsters to eat. Theyseize their prey in theirsuckers, stun it withvenom, and then crush itin their powerful beaks.Octopuses use theirintelligence and keeneyesight both to hunt andavoid capture. They canalso change colour, squirtink and make a quick
GREAT WHITESHARKUp to 7 m longThe great white shark isone of the most ferociouspredators in the oceans.Although it has been
BLUE WHALEUp to 30 m longA blue whale is thelargest whale of all. Afully grown blue whale?sheart can be as big as asmall car and its tonguecan weigh more than anelephant! Their huge size
made blue whales a primetarget for whale hunters.By 1967 their numbershad dropped so low thathunting blue whales wasbanned. Even today, theirnumbers remaindangerously low and theyare still in danger of
extinction.Like all whales, the blue
breathes air, so it mustcome to the water?ssurface from time to time.While it is submerged, thewhale?s nostrils, or blowholes, remain shut. Whenit comes to the surface it
ELEPHANT SEALUp to 6 m long
Elephant seals are so-calledbecause of their huge size andthe male?s elephant-like trunk .The female is much smaller thanthe male.
known to attack and killhumans, this is rare; itusually feeds on fish,turtles and sea mammals.It has up to 3000 teeth inits mouth, arranged inrows. Some are 8 cm longand serrated perfect for
WHY DO WHALES
LEATHERBACKTURTLE1.85 m longThe leatherback turtle?sblack shell feels like hard
rubber. The largestmarine turtle, its frontflippers have a span ofabout 2.7 m. It is alsothe deepest-diving
WHALE SHARKUp to 15.2 m long
The whale shark is theworld?s largest fish.Rarely straying from
warm, tropical waters, itfeeds on krill and fishwhich it filters from thewater passing through itsgills. Although it has
DIVERScuba divers can only diveto about 50 m below thesurface of the ocean.Below that, the waterpressure is too high.
Whales can make different sounds toexpress anger, sadness and surprise.There is evidence that they sing tolocate their position in the ocean andalso to communicate with one another.They sing new songs each year andmay also sing songs that they have
A GIANT
The blue whale spends its summers inthe cold waters around the Arcticicecap or Antarctica. It feeds on hugequantities of tiny shrimp-like animalscalled krill. To satisfy its hugeappetite, it engulfs about 40 millionof them each day. Like all baleenwhales, the blue whale has hundredsof baleen plates, each fringed withstiff hairs, hanging from its upper
jaw. It uses them as a kind ofsieve, trapping the krill
from great
MANTA RAY
PACIFIC OCTOPUS
WHALE SHARKDIVER
GREAT WHITE SHARK
SOUTHERNELEPHANT SEAL
BLUE WHALE
LEATHERBACK TURTLE
1 1 1 1
All animals are drawn to scale
ATLANTICOCEAN
PACIFICOCEAN
ARCTICTERN
YOUNG OFEUROPEAN EEL
GREEN TURTLE
PACIFICSALMON
GREYWHALE
WANDERINGALBATROSS
SHORT-TAILEDSHEARWATER
ANIMALS are always on the move insearch of fresh sources of food.
Some travel at the same time each yearto places where the new season bringsa more favourable climate for feedingor breeding. This is called migration.Journeys of migration are sometimesmade to distant parts of the world. Themost ambitious travellers may fly orswim incredible distances acrossoceans and back again to the same
OCEAN TRAVELLERS
ARTIC TERNThe Arctic tern(right) breeds in theArctic when it issummer in thenorth. Then it flies 13,000 kmto spend the southern summerfeeding in Antarctic waters.Over the course of its life, it
GREY WHALENo other mammal migrates asfar as the grey whale (below). Itfeeds in Arctic waters in summebefore swimming south to breed
WANDERING ALBATROSSThe wandering albatross (above) flies roundthe world near Antarctica. Its spends nearly allits life in the air, coming to land on ocean
GREEN TURTLEProbably the farthest-travelled reptile is thegreen turtle (above).Every two or threeyears, it swims up to2250 km from thewaters off the coast ofBrazil, where it feeds,to its breedinggrounds on tinyAscension Island inthe middle of the
EELSThe young ofthe European eel(above)are born inthe Sargasso Sea,east of Florida. Theyspend the next fewyears drifting across toEurope, where they swim uprivers to grow into adults.
SHORT-TAILEDSHEARWATERThe short-tailed
shearwater(left)nests on islands near
Australia in summer.Then it sets off on aseven-month journeyaround the northPacific. It makes use offollowing winds to help
PACIFIC SALMONPacific salmon(below)travelout to sea and back to therivers where they were born.They swim upstreamto breed. Thejourney mayexceed
2 2
GLOSSARY INDEXBALEEN A material which grows asplates from the roof of the mouth insome kinds of whale. It is sometimesknown as whalebone . The plates arefringed with fibres, and they aredesigned to filter plankton from seawater.
BIOLUMINESCENCE The production oflight by living things. It enables deep-sea fish to locate one another for matingor to attract their prey.
CAMOUFLAGE The means by whichliving things escape the notice ofpredators (or prey, when they themselvesare predators) by using their colours orpatterns to blend into the surroundings.
CETACEANS An order of mammals thatincludes the whales, dolphins andporpoises. The cetaceans can only live inwater either in the ocean or largerivers but, because they are mammals,they must come to the surface tobreathe. They are streamlined animals,and have almost no hair.
CORAL A hard substance produced bypolyps, tube-shaped animals with amouth at one end surrounded by a ring
of tentacles. The polyps, which livetogether in large numbers or colonies,are encased in a limestone skeleton,which is the coral. When they die, newpolyps grow in their remains, andproduce more coral. Eventually a largebank, or coral reef, is built up.
GILLS The breathing organs of fish andsome other water creatures that extractoxygen from the water.
INVERTEBRATES Animals withoutbackbones. They include insects, spiders,shellfish, worms and sponges.
MIGRATION The movement of apopulation of animals from one place toanother at a certain time of the year, tofeed or breed.
OCEAN The body of salt water thatcovers about 71% of the Earth?s surface.It is divided into the Pacific, Atlantic,Indian, Southern and Arctic Oceans.
PLANKTON Animals and plants that livenear the surface of the ocean. They driftfreely in the ocean currents. Minuteplants, for example algae, are kinds ofplankton. They are eaten by tiny animals,
2 2
Aalbatross, wandering6,21
angelfish 8anglerfish 10Antarctica 4, 18Arctic Ocean 4, 12, 22Arctic tern 20Atlantic Ocean 4-5,20,22
Bbaleen 18, 22barracuda 8bear, polar 13bioluminescence 9,22birds 6, 7, 11, 20-21blubber 12, 15booby,blue-footed 7brown 6
breaching 11brittle stars 10burrfish, striped 19butterflyfish 8
Ccamouflage 13, 19,22cetaceans 15, 22chimaera 10clownfish 8copepods 11coral 7, 19, 22coral reefs 7, 22
cowfish, thornback 14crabs 7, 11shore 7
currents 2, 5, 22Ddamselfish 8dolphins 2, 11, 22bottlenose 11common 2
Eeel,European 20gulper 10moray 8
eggs 2extinction 18
Ffish 7-10, 11, 14, 21,22flying fish 7, 11frigatebird,magnificent11
GHgills 17, 22Gulf Stream 5hatchetfish 9, 10
IJicebergs 4Indian Ocean 4, 22invertebrates 2, 22jellyfish 14, 19box 14lion?s mane 14
KLkrill 17, 18lanternfish 9
lionfish, zebra 8, 14lobsters 2
Mmammals 15, 22migration 12, 20-21,22Ooarfish 10ocean depths 8-10,16octopus 10, 16pacific 16
oystercatcher 7
PPacific Ocean 4-5, 22parrotfish 7, 8pipefish, harlequinghost19
plankton 8, 11, 22plants 8, 9, 11, 22polar regions 5, 12-13polyps 22Portuguese man-of-war6, 7
pressure 17pufferfish 8
Rrays 7, 15manta 15stingray 7
reptiles 16
Ssalmon, pacific 21
scavengers 9, 22scuba divers 17sea cucumber 10sea slug 19sea snake, banded 7sea spider 10sea urchin 10seahorses 2, 8seals 12-13, 18bearded 12-13elephant 18
sharks 2, 8, 15, 17great white 17hammerhead 2leopard 8whale 17
shearwater, short-tailed21
ships 2skates 15Southern Ocean 4, 22squid, giant 2, 10starfish 8, 19surface waters 5, 6, 8,11, 18
Ttripodfish 10tropic-bird, red tailed6turtlegreen 7, 20leatherback 16
Vvenom 14, 16viperfish 10
Wwalrus 12