CREATURES OF
THE SEA
BY: LAYNA W.
WHALES
TEETH
Whales are the largest mammals in the world. Most smaller whales belong to a group that have teeth. The Sperm Whale is the largest toothed whale. Toothed whales feed on fish, squid, and some small marine animals. Did you know that dolphins and porpoises are toothed whales?
BALEEN
Whales that don't have teeth have baleen. Baleen are plates that hang vertical over the mouth. The plates are used to catch krill, small shrimp-like animals, or plankton that floats in most oceans. Baleen whales swim with their mouth open and take in water by tons. Then the whale sends the trapped food into its stomach. The Blue Whale is the largest baleen whale.
physical FEATURES
Whales can grow to more than 100 feet in length and weigh 200 tons. Their front flippers are used as a paddle. The wide tail, called flukes, contains no bones, but provides much power for movement. The blubber does many things for the whale. It allows the whale to float easier, store energy, and keeps them warm. They breath through one or two holes at the top of their head. You can tell different types of whales by their spray.
DOLPHINS
A dolphin is a small-toothed whale having 12 to 200 teeth, none of which can be lost in their life. Dolphins are between 4 to 20 feet in length. The eyes of a dolphin are on both sides of their head. Behind the eyes is a small hole that is his ear. The rostrum is the dolphin's beak-shaped snout. There is an air hole at the top of every dolphin's head. A dolphin's skin is smooth and rubbery. They also have blubber which keeps them warm. The 2 lobes on the dolphin's tail are called flukes which push the dolphin through the water at speeds of 3-7 mph. Dolphins can swim up to 22 mph. for short distances. The fin on the dolphin's back is called the dorsal fin.
SHARK
Did you know that sharks were here even before dinosaurs roamed the earth? They've been here for more than 400 million years.
Click here for info. on the Great White Shark
Most all sharks are carnivores. They eat dolphins, seals, sharks and other fish. They are cold-blooded animals. . You can be injured by just touching a shark because a shark's skin is very spiky. Sharks have a lifetime supply of teeth, but they don't use their teeth to chew. They swallow things whole, or in big pieces. Sharks can hear, smell, and feel everything in the water from great distances.
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Octopus
The average size of octopus is 24 to 36 inches. The octopus has a soft body and a well developed brain, similar to the human's brain. Octopi are known to be very intelligent. Octopi hunt at night, or on dreary, dark days. The octopus catches its prey with its 8 long arms with 2 rows of suckers at the end of every arm. The suckers help the octopus hold on to pretty much everything. They are found worldwide in warm temperature waters. The largest species of octopi can grow to be 15 feet in length and weigh more than 100 pounds. Octopi stay in their dens during the day. They eat crustaceans and mollusks. They catch them by sticking the end of their tentacle out like a worm. Octopi can regenerate which means if you cut off one of its tentacles it will grow back. The octopus has a very keen eyesight but is completely deaf.
Click here for info. on the octopus.
SEA TURTLES
Sea Turtles are saltwater reptiles. They have streamlined bodies and flipper-like limbs so they can swim through water in relatively short time. Sea Turtles are carnivores. Did you know scientist believe that female turtles return to the same beach on which they were born to lay their eggs? A female turtle can lay as many as 200 orange-sized eggs. There are many dangers for unborn turtles. One is if the egg is submerged in water, the egg could leak and drown the turtle inside. The turtle could die if the egg got too cold or if the poachers dig up the eggs. The mother turtle lays so many eggs because out of 200 eggs only a handful survive. A Sea Turtle could live up to 100 years and weigh up to 1,500 lbs. Sea Turtles are nearsighted out of water. They have two pieces to their shell, the carapace (upper shell) and the plastron (under shell).
Click here for information on sea turtles.
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