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

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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

1 1

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