Birds and animals living in water. What animals live in the aquatic environment

What animals live in aquatic environment? You are interested in this question and want to find an answer to it, then in this article you will definitely get the information you need.

Animals that live in aquatic environments

The world of aquatic inhabitants is very diverse. Although there is not as much oxygen in the aquatic environment as in the air-terrestrial environment, animals have adapted to provide themselves with this vital gas. So, fish absorb oxygen dissolved in water using gills. Dolphins and whales They live in an aquatic environment, but provide themselves with oxygen outside of it. To do this, they rise to the surface of the water from time to time to inhale air.

They live in fresh water bodies beavers, their thick coat has the property of not allowing water to pass through, that is, impenetrable.

Feathers birds living in an aquatic environment is covered with a substance that does not allow it to become saturated with water.

The aquatic environment has become a factor that influenced the structure of the organs of movement, for example, fish move with the help of fins; waterfowl, beavers, frogs- using limbs that have membranes between the fingers.

Seals and walruses have wide flippers. On ice they are quite slow, because their mass does not allow them to move quickly, but in water they are very agile and fast.

Swimming beetles have legs that resemble oars.

In the oceans at a depth of more than 1 km there is complete darkness. Only those organisms that have adapted to such conditions live there. Some of them have special special organs that have the ability to glow blue, green or yellow.

At a depth of 2-3 km live fish called "sea devils" or anglerfish because their body is covered with plaques and spines, and their mouth is incredible big size, characteristic of ordinary fish. From the dorsal fin, a “devil” grows and hangs a “fishing rod”, at the end of which there is a luminous organ. Anglers use this as bait, since this moving point attracts the attention of organisms that swim past, and the “devil,” in turn, carefully pulls the “fishing rod” to his mouth and simply swallows the prey in a matter of seconds. Some types of fish have such “fishing rods” in their mouths, so when hunting they swim with their mouths open.

So, organisms living in water had to adapt to such an environment over many centuries.

Heavy-duty walruses, round, barrel-shaped seals and big, furry polar bears have a lot in common. They live in cold arctic climates where no other animal could survive.
Clumsy walruses.
The first thing that catches your eye when you see a walrus is its large size and tusks. Both help him survive in the harsh climate. The thick layer of fat under the skin of a walrus is called blubber. It protects it from cold and hunger: the walrus will use up its fat reserves when it is difficult to find food. The huge tusks of a walrus are its teeth. He relies on them to get out of the sea and uses them when encountering other animals. On land, walruses move clumsily, but in water, thanks to the fat layer, their movements are easy and agile.
The weight of a walrus can reach a ton, and its tusks can be one meter in length, which gives it a very unusual appearance.

Graceful seals.
Like walruses, seals are quite clumsy on land, but graceful in the water. At sea, they usually hunt for fish and other marine life. their main enemies are polar bears and killer whales - killer whales that feed on seal meat, as well as people who kill seals for their fur. In winter they hide under the ice from the cold and polar bears. With care, a seal can live up to 43 years.
Baby seals are called pups. They are born on land, but can swim in water within a few hours after birth.



Northern hunters.
Huge polar bears are the largest bears in the world. Their length can reach 3.4 meters and weight - 1 thousand kg. They are twice as tall as a human and 15 times heavier. Little bear cubs live with their mother in a den under the snow. When they are three months old, they come to the surface, where their mother teaches them all the rules of hunting.


Fur cover.
Polar bears are excellent swimmers. In water, their fur sticks together and forms a waterproof layer, which even protects them from the cold. A polar bear can swim 100 km without resting, and it runs at a speed of 56 km/h. Its paws do not slip even on ice, since their soles are covered with hard bristles, which also helps to securely grab prey with its paws.
Although polar bears are friendly in appearance, they can be very ferocious: one blow from a bear's paw will completely stun a seal.

Many scientists believe that the first living creatures evolved in the sea. Hundreds of millions of years passed before animals appeared on land. Life in the ocean is much more diverse than on land, and many types of plants and animals are found only in the seas. The oceans are home to more than 150 thousand species of animals and plants. The weight of all living organisms inhabiting the World Ocean reaches 50-60 billion tons. In the waters of the ocean there are all types of the organic world - from the simplest organisms to mammals.

Only centipedes, spiders and amphibians do not live in the sea.

The aquatic environment differs from the air: the temperature is distributed differently in it; on great depths there is enormous water pressure; sunlight penetrates only into the uppermost layers.

Among the many remarkable properties of water that are important for the organisms living in it, low thermal conductivity, very high heat capacity and high solubility of various substances in water are especially significant. Due to the high heat capacity of water temperature regime The oceans do not change as dramatically as on land. This is important for both cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals. Aquatic organisms do not need adaptations to sudden changes in environmental temperature.

Slowly heating up, the water of the oceans also slowly releases heat into the atmosphere. Therefore, the warmest water in the oceans and seas occurs when the hot summer period on land has already ended. Ocean water stores enormous reserves of heat. Giving it to the air, it significantly affects the climate of surrounding countries. The average temperature of the surface layer of water in the World Ocean is +17°.4, and the surface layer of air on the surface of the entire globe is only +14°.4.

Daily fluctuations in water temperature off the coast, in small bays and bays are greater than in the open sea. Seasonal changes in water temperature are more significant in temperate regions of the northern and southern hemispheres. But seasonal differences in temperature are observed in the upper layer - up to a depth of 500 m. At greater depths, over 1000 m, the temperature changes very little throughout the year.

In addition to water temperature, the most important condition for life is the presence of oxygen. Marine organisms breathe oxygen, just like their terrestrial “relatives”. In gases dissolved in water, oxygen averages 35% (in an oxygen atmosphere 21%). The oxygen that animals and plants breathe comes into the water from the atmosphere or is formed as a result of photosynthesis of algae, so there is more of it in the surface layers than in the deep ones. Sea currents They mix the water well, and oxygen in small quantities spreads to the bottom of the oceans. In places where mixing of deep waters is difficult, such as in the Black and Arabian Seas, the Bay of Bengal, at depths of over 200 m there is no free oxygen, hydrogen sulfide is formed there.

In addition to gases, ocean waters contain significant amounts of various dissolved substances. The salinity of sea water and the composition of salts are of great importance for the development of the organic world. On average, ocean waters contain 35 G of salts per 1 kg of water. If all the water in the oceans were evaporated, their bottom would be covered with a 60-meter layer of salt.

To develop, living organisms need substances from which proteins are formed. The primary creators of organic matter in the sea, as well as on land, are plants. All marine animals obtain protein in ready-made form by eating algae or eating animals.

Marine plants - algae, like sushi plants, contain a green pigment - chlorophyll. It helps them use the energy of sunlight to form a chemical process inside the cell, as a result of which water captured by plants is first decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen, and then the hydrogen combines with carbon dioxide absorbed from surrounding water. This is how carbohydrates are formed: glucose (sugar), starch, etc. Then, in the body of the algae, due to the combination of carbohydrates with phosphorus, nitrogenous and other substances absorbed from water, protein and other organic substances are formed. Oxygen released during the decomposition of water is released from the cell. It enriches water with gas necessary for the respiration of organisms.

In the surface layers of water and shallow coastal areas of the seas and oceans, rich vegetation develops - a variety of algae. A huge number of crustaceans, worms and other small animals “graze” in such “underwater” meadows.

Laminaria are large seaweeds reaching 6 m in length. Many kelp are edible: they contain sugary substances. Iodine is extracted from these algae. Kelp is also used to fertilize fields (photo taken at low tide). Photo: Chris Booth

The larvae of many benthic animals also rise here to fatten, and as adults they firmly adhere to the bottom or burrow into the silt. Small animals serve as food for herring, sardines and other commercial fish, as well as whales. Inhabitants of great depths are filter feeders or predators. Filters filter large quantities of water to filter out food - plant and animal debris that comes from the surface layers of the water.

Continental waters wash away various substances from the surface of the land and “fertilize” the oceans. In addition, dying organisms, falling to the bottom of the ocean and decomposing there, serve as a rich source of replenishing water with reserves of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other substances necessary for plants. Currents, mixing the water in the sea, carry these substances upward and “fertilize” with them the layer of water where marine plants live, with the help of which these substances again enter the cycle of life.

Marine molluscs, corals, most sponges, sea ​​urchins and stars, worms, bryozoans, as well as some algae (lithothamnia)

Underwater corals are very similar to highly branching algae, but they are not plants, but animals. They attach one end to underwater rocks and form large colonies. Photo: Derek Keats

extracted from water great amount calcium, which is used to build shells, shells and various skeletons. Radiolarians, silicon sponges and some other animals need silicon. We can say that all substances dissolved in water, even in minute quantities, are necessary for the inhabitants of the seas and oceans. The remarkable constancy of the salt composition of ocean water is maintained by the activity of organisms.

Plants need sunlight to live normally. The sun's rays do not penetrate to great depths of the sea. This is explained primarily by the fact that some of the sun's rays are reflected from the surface of the water. The lower the sun is above the horizon, the greater the percentage of rays reflected from the sea surface, so in the Arctic seas light penetrates to a shallower depth than in equatorial waters.

In water, different parts of the solar spectrum penetrate to different depths. Red and orange rays are quickly absorbed by the first meters of water, green ones disappear at a depth of 500 m, and only blue ones penetrate up to 1500 m. Algae especially need red and orange rays and, to a lesser extent, green ones. Therefore, plants in the sea are found mainly at depths of up to 100, less often up to 200 m. Animals, as a rule, do not directly need light and inhabit ocean waters to maximum depths.

The entire multi-kilometer layer of ocean waters can be divided into two “floors”: the upper one - producing organic matter and the lower one (deeper than 200 m) - consuming.

Until recently, it was believed that ocean depths of more than 6 km were lifeless, since supposedly no living organism could withstand the enormous water pressure.

Soviet scientists have proven that even at the greatest depths there are fish, crabs, crayfish, worms, mollusks and other animals. Deep-sea inhabitants have adapted to life under high pressure. The body of marine animals contains a large amount of water, and it compresses very little, so the pressure inside the body easily balances the pressure from outside. This is why life at great depths was possible.

The starfish searches for food with the help of numerous legs-papillae located on the underside of the rays. This animal is a predator; it attacks prey that is larger than itself. In such cases, the starfish turns out its stomach and envelops the victim with it, and then retracts the stomach again. Photo: Ryan Poplin

Many inhabitants of great depths rise to the surface layers. They can often be found at a depth of 1000 and occasionally 500 m. The high water temperature prevents the animal from rising higher: after all, they are accustomed to living at constantly low temperatures. Water at great depths has a temperature of only plus 1-2°. Under such conditions, all life processes are delayed. Organisms grow much slower than in the warm surface layers of the ocean. The reason for this is the small amount of food.

Animals of the depths are in constant darkness, many of them are blind, and some have eyes that have a “telescopic” structure that allows them to catch the slightest glimpses of light. Some animals have special “lanterns” that glow in different colors. So, for example, on the head of the small costus fish, one pair of light organs emits red light, and the other pair emits green light. Some mollusks have light organs that emit blue light. There are animals in which a special luminous liquid accumulates in their bodies. At the moment of danger, the animal releases it and blinds the enemy.

Many deep-sea creatures have various organs that help them perceive sound waves. After all, in pitch darkness you must be able to catch the movement of a far-swimming enemy or, conversely, determine the location of the desired prey. Sound travels well in water - almost 5 times faster than in air (about 1520 m/sec).

The size of the mouth and the abundance of teeth are striking in deep-sea fish. In some fish, the jaws are designed in such a way that they can move wide apart, like those of snakes, and a small predator is able to swallow a prey even larger than itself. This is due to the small number of living creatures at great depths: if you are lucky enough to catch prey, then you need to swallow it whole. As you can see, organisms living at great depths have adapted well to the conditions of their environment.

The closer to the surface, the richer and more diverse life becomes. Of the 150 thousand species of marine organisms in upper layers(up to 500 m depth) is home to more than 100 thousand species.

Living conditions at sea are very favorable. In the sea, plants are surrounded on all sides by a nutrient solution, and on land they extract water and nutrients dissolved in it from the soil with their roots.

To stay on the ground, living things need strong roots or strong limbs. On land, the largest animal is the elephant, and in the sea - the whale, which is 20-25 times heavier than the elephant. Such a huge animal on land would not be able to move and would die. Another thing is in the water. As is known, any body located in water is subject to a buoyancy force equal to the weight of the liquid in the volume of the immersed part of the body. That is why a whale, with its enormous weight, has to expend many times less effort when moving in water than it would require on land.

Swimming jellyfish. It captures prey with its long tentacles. Photo: Luca Vanzella

Temperatures at sea are more constant than on land. Marine animals do not need to seek protection from the cold in winter and from the heat in summer. With the onset of frost, a thick layer of ice and snow prevents the cold from penetrating into the water. Ice, like a fur coat, covers the reservoir and protects the water from freezing. Even in the cold Arctic, the sea never freezes to the bottom. The temperature in winter in the depths of the sea, under the cover of ice, is almost the same as in summer.

Life in the depths of the ocean

Favorable living conditions contributed to the development of the greatest diversity of organisms in the sea. All inhabitants of the seas, according to the conditions of their existence, are divided into three groups: plankton, nekton and benthos.

Plankton includes various microscopic algae (diatoms, peridinea, blue-greens), unicellular animals (globigerina, radiolarians, etc.), small crustaceans, jellyfish, some worms, eggs and fry of many fish. The word “plankton” is Greek and means “wandering”, “carried”. Indeed, all these sea inhabitants are passively transported by the movement of water. They actively move mainly vertically - up or down. During the day, plankton animals descend into the depths, and in the evening they rise to the surface layers. The plankton is followed by fish that feed on it. Currents carry plankton over considerable distances, and planktivorous marine animals find food everywhere.

No matter how small planktonic organisms are in volume, their number in the seas and oceans is enormous. If we could put all the whales and fish on one side of the scale, and plankton on the other, it would tip the scale. The amount of plankton decreases sharply with depth.

Nekton includes: most fish, pinnipeds (seals and walruses), cetaceans (whales, sperm whales), cephalopods, sea ​​snakes and turtles. Nekton is also a Greek word and means “floating.” Animals that belong to nekton have a streamlined body shape that helps them move quickly in the water. It is not easy even for a fast-moving vessel to catch up with a whale, and it is difficult for fast-swimming fish to escape from the mouths of dolphins.

Most fish and mammals make long journeys - migrations. With the onset of spawning time, many fish unite into schools of millions, sometimes occupying an area of ​​​​several tens of kilometers. Traveling from the feeding area to the spawning areas (spawning), fish swim hundreds and thousands of kilometers.

Many fish go from the sea to rivers to spawn. These fish are called anadromous, in contrast to sea fish. Migratory fish, especially salmon and sturgeon, travel long distances up rivers. If the path in the river is blocked by rapids, the fish jump out of the water and overcome them with strong jumps.

The valuable commercial fish nelma (salmon) emerging from the Arctic Ocean into the rivers of Siberia travels more than 3 thousand km up the river to its spawning site. The fish movement is especially majestic in the rivers of the Far East, when millions of schools of pink salmon and chum salmon rush into the rivers of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. They do not feed in rivers and die after spawning.

A different type of migration is observed in the eel. Adult eels travel from rivers to the ocean to spawn. European eels spawn in the waters of the Sargasso Sea. To do this, they cover a distance of 7-8 thousand km. After spawning, adult eels die, and the larvae are transported to the shores of Europe by the Atlantic current.

The White Sea herd of harp seals makes long journeys. In the summer they fatten in the waters surrounding Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land, and in the winter they come to give birth to their young in the throat of the White Sea.

Whales travel almost 5 thousand km to the warm part of the ocean, where their calves are born. Together with the young whales, the parents go back to the cool waters to the north and south to fatten.

Among cetaceans, a distinction is made between baleen and toothed whales. The first got their name because rows of horny plates hang from their palate, covered with horny fibers along the inner edge, like a mustache. Passing large amounts of water through their mouths, baleen whales strain and swallow small inhabitants of the surface layers of the ocean.

The sea anemone and the mollusk live in “friendship”: the mollusk carries the sea anemone, and it protects its “driver” from enemies with stinging capsules that can stun even small fish. Photo: Tanaka

Toothed whales hunt for fish and squid, and killer whales (predatory dolphins) hunt for seals, fur seals, and walruses. Everyone's surprise, even in the picture, is a sperm whale with a huge, seemingly bluntly chopped off head. His body is huge, weighing 20 tons - almost as much as his entire body. Sperm whales are excellent divers. Their main food is cephalopods. Sperm whales dive to a depth of several hundred meters for large squid. Scars from the suckers of giant squid (more than 10 m long) are often visible on the skin of sperm whales. Whales have become so adapted to life in water that they have acquired a variety of body shapes. Previously, the whale was called fish-whale. Whales cannot go onto land.

Whales are mammals. They give birth and feed their young with milk in the water. Whales breathe atmospheric air and therefore live in the surface layer of ocean water. In the process of evolution, a peculiar distribution of hunting sites occurred between whales. Baleen whales fish the upper layers - up to 50 m; Close relatives of sperm whales, bottlenose whales, dive deeper, up to 100 m, and even deeper, up to 300 m, sperm whales hunt for food. Baleen whales stay underwater for 10 minutes, and sperm whales stay underwater for up to 45 minutes.

Fish, seals, whales and many other representatives of nekton are the main prey of marine fisheries.

All inhabitants of the bottom of the seas and oceans belong to the benthos. The word "benthos" is Greek and means "deep". For benthic animals, hard ground is needed as a permanent support, for example for corals, or temporary, as for flounder. Some representatives of benthos settle on coastal rocks and beaches above the water level, where only splashes of waves reach.

Algae attached to the seabed and many animals that live in the tidal zone live in the air for hours at low tide. However, this does not hinder their development.

Various large algae grow to a depth of 100 m. Deeper down they are already disappearing. The sun's rays are quickly absorbed in water, so bottom algae cannot live at great depths.

The amount of benthos decreases with depth. At depths of up to 300 m, there are about 250 g of benthos per 1 m 2 of the bottom, and near the shore and in shallow waters it amounts to many kilograms. At a depth of more than 10 thousand m, there are less than 1 G of benthic animals per 1 m 2.

The world's oceans are divided into five biogeographic regions: Arctic, Antarctic, North and South temperate regions and Tropical region.

The Arctic and Antarctic regions are characterized by low, often even negative water temperatures in winter and summer and floating ice.

In the temperate regions of both hemispheres, water temperatures vary significantly between seasons; in the Tropical region - constantly high temperature of the surface layers of water. Seasonal temperature fluctuations here rarely exceed 2°.

Life in the northern seas

Let's start from the north. Ice fields stretch before us, but they are not lifeless. Here he creeps up to the edge of the ice floe polar bear. There are seals lying on the ice floe. Their limbs, or flippers, look like oars. At the ends of the toes of the hind limbs, cartilaginous plates are developed, and between the toes there are swimming membranes, increasing the area of ​​the “oar”. The soles of the hind limbs are adjacent to each other, and the animal can bend them to the right and left, like the tail of a fish. On land, seals move with difficulty, crawling on their bellies. Other pinnipeds - walruses, sea lions and seals - although they move with the help of their limbs along the shore or ice, they also “crawl” rather than “walk”.

The body of an adult seal is covered with short, coarse hair. Under the skin there is a thick layer of fat; it, like a warm fur coat, prevents the animal from chilling in cold water.

Pinnipeds feed mainly on fish and crustaceans. Seals, like all pinnipeds, have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, and their eyes see well both under water and on land. That is why a polar bear that sneaks up on a seal on the ice often leaves without a meal: the seal disappears into the hole with lightning speed.

A flock of unicorns (often called narwhals) frolics in a large ice hole. This is a type of dolphin. The thick skin of a unicorn is covered with a stratum corneum. It, like armor, protects the animal from bruises on the ice. The only tooth of the males grew in length and turned into a tusk. Occasionally they have two tusks. Unicorns feed on fish, especially cod. Unicorns are often found in the waters surrounding Greenland, Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya.

Near the Siberian coast our ship will meet another species of dolphin - the beluga whale. A herd of beluga whales came here to feed on navaga, goby, Pechora herring and salmon fish. The skin of beluga whales has “armor”. Beluga whales got their name from the white skin color characteristic of adult animals. In the north they are called "belugas". During the course, beluga whales roar abruptly. This roar is reminiscent of the roar of a bull and at the same time the grunt of a walrus. This is where the famous expression comes from: “Roars like a beluga.” Beluga whales eat a lot of pink salmon and chum salmon.

Herds of harp seals can be found in the Barents Sea. More than a hundred years ago, bowhead whales lived here. Now they are rare: almost all of them have been exterminated. The waters of the Barents Sea are populated by millions of crustaceans and a large amount of fish - herring, cod, haddock.

A baby harbor seal is a squirrel. Photo: Brian Scantlebury

Now let's go south. We will find ourselves in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, which belongs to the North Temperate Region. Here we will meet many different fishing vessels. They went fishing for Atlantic herring, cod, haddock, sea bass, and flounder. The sardine fishery is developed near the southern border of the Northern Temperate Region.

Soon flying fish, inhabitants of the Tropical region, will begin to fall onto the deck of our ship. In flying fish, the fins have turned into wings. But the wing of a fish is not the wing of a bird, but of a glider. The flying fish does not flap its wings, but flies like a glider, spreading its fins wide.

It is impossible to list all the inhabitants of the Tropical Region. Warm waters of the World

The oceans are abundantly populated by a variety of animal and plant species. 860 species of brown, red and green algae grow off the tropical shores of the Malay Archipelago. There is no such abundance of vegetation in any sea. There are also 40 thousand species of various marine animals - sponges, corals, worms, mollusks, fish. Corals form islands and reefs. The famous Great Barrier Reef to the east of Australia stretches for 2200 km, the Barrier Reef of New Caledonia - for 1500 km.

Among the coral colonies, fish of bizarre shapes, motley, like butterflies, flash. Here is a strange ball covered with needles: this is a hedgehog fish. When she sees an enemy, her body swells.

Dense mangroves are sometimes found at river mouths and in the swampy lowlands of tropical coasts. Many marine animals live among the roots of mangrove trees, including jumper fish. These fish crawl out of the water onto the shore and hunt for insects. Some species of jumpers have become so adapted to living without water that they die if they are deprived of the opportunity to be in the air.

Shark. On its belly there are sticky fish that travel with the shark as “free passengers” and eat up any leftover food after it. Photo: ba.zinga

On the shore you can see a crab, which is called the coconut or palm thief. It has almost said goodbye to water and comes to the sea only to reproduce. The crab feeds on the pulp of coconuts, after which it climbs onto a palm tree. It cuts off the nuts with its powerful claws, throws them down and eats them.

In tropical seas live giant stingrays - relatives of sharks - with greatly overgrown lateral fins. Electric stingrays are interesting - Torpedo. They have special organs in their bodies that store electrical energy. The discharge of electricity from a stingray is sufficient to paralyze a fish or drive away a predator.

Among the sharks there are giants - whale sharks - up to 20 m in length. The life of peculiar fish - pilot fish and stickfish - is closely connected with sharks. A pilot fish helps a shark locate a school of fish. Sticky fish are attached to the shark’s belly with a special suction cup and thus travel with it. The stickers and pilots eat up the remaining food of the shark.

Among marine mammals, dugongs and manatees from the order Sirenidae are interesting. These are marine herbivores. Their forelimbs have turned into flippers, but their hind limbs are missing. They live in a zone of lush development of bottom algae.

Continuing our journey south, we find ourselves in the Southern Temperate Region. Here you will meet old acquaintances from the northern seas: whales, seals, sardines, sea bass, mullet. On secluded islands you can see seals. They are close relatives of our Far Eastern seals.

Penguins live in the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere. They live on islands, shores and even the ice of Antarctica. You can also find seals here. Whales swim near the edge of the ice. Among them there are blue whales, reaching 33 m in length and 120 tons of weight. One such giant weighs as much as 25 elephants or 200 bulls. The life of whales is spent at sea. A “baby” whale receives 100-200 liters of milk per day from its mother. A whale can stay underwater for 5-10 minutes. Having emerged to the surface, he forcefully exhales the exhaust air. The steam exhaled with air condenses in the cold and a fountain is formed. You can recognize the type of whale by the shape of the fountain.

The Antarctic seas are now the main whaling area. Whales use fat, skin, meat, and medicines are obtained from the endocrine glands. In Antarctica you can find huge floating factories of the Soviet whaling fleet.

In the northern temperate region of the Pacific Ocean and in our Far Eastern seas there live many species of animals close to the inhabitants of Atlantic waters: cod, herring, sardine, Kamchatka salmon, etc. You can also see here animals that have not been seen before. Amazing number and diversity of salmon

fish: pink salmon, chum salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon. On the coasts there are large rookeries of sea lions and fur seals. On Komandorsky and Kuril Islands sea ​​otters (sea otters) are also found. They are also called Kamchatka or sea beavers. This name is unfortunate, since the beaver belongs to the order of rodents and feeds on plant foods. The temperate region of the Pacific Ocean is richer in a variety of animal species than the same region in the Atlantic Ocean.

Layers in the ocean

When the bathyscaphe "Trieste" sank to the bottom of the deep depression in the World Ocean - Mariana (11,022 m), he stopped three times, encountering some invisible obstacle. As is known, in a bathyscaphe gasoline plays the same role as hydrogen or helium in an airship. To continue the submersion of the submersible, it was necessary to release a certain amount of gasoline, this made the device heavier. What prevented the submersible from descending?

An obstacle on the way was a sharp increase in the density of water. In the ocean, with depth, as a rule, the temperature decreases and the salinity of water increases, as a result of which its density increases. At some depths, all these changes occur abruptly. The layer in which there is a sharp change in temperature and density of water is called the “jump layer”. There are usually one or two such layers in the ocean. Trieste discovered a third one. Upon careful examination of the water in Pacific Ocean It turned out that in some areas it has increased radioactivity due to the explosions carried out by the United States at that time.



The underwater world is mysterious and unique. It contains secrets that have not yet been solved by man. We invite you to get acquainted with the most unusual sea creatures and plunge into the unknown depths water world and see her beauty.

1. Atoll Jellyfish (Atolla vanhoeffeni)

The unusually beautiful Atoll jellyfish lives at such depths where sunlight does not penetrate. In times of danger, it can glow, attracting large predators. Jellyfish do not seem tasty to them, and predators eat their enemies with pleasure.

This jellyfish is capable of emitting a bright red glow, which is a consequence of the breakdown of proteins in its body. As a rule, large jellyfish are dangerous creatures, but you should not be afraid of the Atoll, because its habitat is where no swimmer can reach.

2. Blue Angel (Glaucus atlanticus)

This very tiny mollusk rightfully deserves its name; it seems to float on the water surface. To become lighter and stay at the very edge of the water, it swallows air bubbles from time to time.

These unusual creatures have an unusual body shape. They are blue above and silver below. It is not for nothing that nature has provided such camouflage - the Blue Angel remains unnoticed by birds and sea predators. A thick layer of mucus around the mouth allows it to feed on small, poisonous sea creatures.

3. Harp sponge (Chondrocladia lyra)

This mysterious marine predator has not yet been sufficiently studied. The structure of its body resembles a harp, hence the name. The sponge is inactive. It clings to the sediment of the seabed and hunts by gluing small underwater inhabitants to its sticky tips.

The harp sponge covers its prey with a bactericidal film and gradually digests it. There are individuals with two or more lobes, which are connected in the center of the body. The more blades, the more food the sponge will catch.

4. Dumbo Octopus (Grimpoteuthis)

The octopus got its name because of its resemblance to the Disney hero, Dumbo the elephant, although it has a semi-gelatinous body of rather modest size. Its fins resemble elephant ears. He waves them around as he swims, which looks quite funny.

Not only the “ears” help to move, but also the peculiar funnels located on the octopus’ body, through which it releases water under pressure. Dumbo lives at very great depths, so we don’t know much about him. Its diet consists of all kinds of mollusks and worms.

Octopus Dumbo

5. Yeti Crab (Kiwa hirsuta)

The name of this animal speaks for itself. The crab, covered with white shaggy fur, truly resembles Bigfoot. It lives in cold waters at such depths where there is no access to light, so it is completely blind.

These amazing animals grow microorganisms on their claws. Some scientists believe that the crab needs these bacteria to purify the water from toxic substances, others suggest that the crabs grow food for themselves on the bristles.

6. Short-snouted pipistrelle (Ogcocephalus)

This fashionable fish with bright red lips can't swim at all. Living at a depth of more than two hundred meters, it has a flat body covered with a shell and fin-like legs, thanks to which the short-snouted bat slowly walks along the bottom.

It obtains food using a special growth - a kind of retractable fishing rod with an odorous bait that attracts prey. The discreet coloring and spiked shell help the fish hide from predators. Perhaps this is the funniest animal among the inhabitants of the world's oceans.

7. Sea slug Felimare Picta

Felimare Picta is a species of sea slug that lives in Mediterranean waters. He looks very extravagant. The yellow-blue body seems to be surrounded by a delicate airy frill.

Felimare Picta, although a mollusk, does without a shell. And why does he need her? In case of danger, the sea slug has something much more interesting. For example, acidic sweat that is released on the surface of the body. It's really bad luck for anyone who wants to treat themselves to this mysterious mollusk!

8. Flamingo tongue clam (Cyphoma gibbosum)

This creature is found on west coast Atlantic Ocean. Having a brightly colored mantle, the mollusk completely covers its plain shell with it and thus protects it from the negative influence of marine organisms.

Like an ordinary snail, the Flamingo's Tongue hides in its shell in case of impending danger. By the way, the mollusk received this name due to its bright color with characteristic spots. It prefers poisonous gongonaria as food. While eating, the snail absorbs the poison of its prey, after which it becomes poisonous itself.

9. Leafy sea dragon (Phycodurus eques)

The sea dragon is a true virtuoso of mimicry. It is all covered with “leaves”, which help it appear invisible against the backdrop of the underwater landscape. It is interesting that such abundant vegetation does not help the dragon move at all. Only two tiny fins located on its chest and back are responsible for its speed. The leaf dragon is a predator. It feeds by sucking prey into itself.

Dragons feel comfortable in the shallow waters of warm seas. And these sea inhabitants are also known as excellent fathers, because it is the males who bear the offspring and take care of them.

10. Salps (Salpidae)

Salps are invertebrates Marine life, which have a barrel-shaped body, through the transparent shell of which internal organs are visible.

In the ocean depths, animals form long chains of colonies, which are easily broken even by a minor wave shock. Salps reproduce by budding.

11. Piglet squid (Helicocranchia pfefferi)

This strange and little-studied underwater creature resembles “Piglet” from the famous cartoon. The completely transparent body of the piglet squid is covered with pigment spots, the combination of which sometimes gives it a cheerful appearance. Around the eyes there are so-called photophores - organs of luminescence.

This mollusk is leisurely. It's funny that the piggy squid moves upside down, which is why its tentacles look like forelocks. He lives at a depth of one hundred meters.

12. Ribbon moray eel (Rhinomuraena guaesita)

This underwater inhabitant is quite unusual. Throughout its life, the ribbon moray eel is capable of changing sex and color three times, depending on the stages of its development. So, when the individual is still immature, it is colored black or dark blue.

In this article we will talk about the fastest living creatures that live in water. At first glance, it seems that representatives of the aquatic world will not even be able to compete in speed with fleet-footed land dwellers and birds. After all, the habitat itself - water, dense and viscous, does not predispose to movement at very high speeds. But it turned out that if aquatic animals still “didn’t reach the fastest “flyers”, then the terrestrial fauna were practically not inferior in speed. It is clear that speed for them is one of the most important qualities that allows them to survive in wildlife, allowing the “hunter” to overtake the “prey”, and the “victim” to escape from the “hunter”. But what maximum speed can the inhabitants of the seas, oceans and fresh water bodies develop? Let's look at the fastest of them...

Tiger shark (lat. Galeocerdo cuvier) – 53 km/h

Tiger shark has a large mouth, in which there are many teeth with beveled tops. This mouthpart is adapted for feeding on sea turtles. The speed of turtles is about 35 km/h, and the speed of a tiger shark is 53 km/h. Why does she need such a large reserve of speed? Probably so as not to become prey to larger predators.

Killer whale (lat. Orcinus orca) – 55 km/h.
The photo shows killer whales off the coast of Alaska

killer whale – marine mammal, order of cetaceans, suborder of toothed whales, family of dolphins. The only surviving modern representative of the killer whale genus. This is the largest aquatic predator, which, nevertheless, develops a good speed of 55 km/h. As in the previous case, the killer whale needs this speed solely for hunting, because no one except humans attacks this animal. High speed qualities and considerable intelligence make the killer whale very fast and dangerous predator.

Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) – 56 km/h

Tarpon- a large fish, similar in appearance to herring, but having nothing in common with it. Atlantic tarpon(Megalops atlanticus) can grow up to 2 meters in length, and its speed matches its size - up to 56 km/h. Interestingly, when these fish lack oxygen, they can jump out of the water to literally take a breath of air.

White-winged porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) – 56 km/h

White-winged porpoise, or Dahl's porpoise- a mammal reaching a length of 1.8-2 meters, and a newborn individual - 1 m. Males have characteristic features that distinguish them from females (a hump in front of the tail, a sloping front part, and others). White-winged porpoises live in groups (about 20 individuals). They can swim at a speed of just over 56 km/h. Porpoises are predators. They feed on fish and cephalopods, which they hunt at night.

Blue or blue shark (Prionace glauca) – 69 km/h

Blue or blue shark- a type of cartilaginous fish from the family of gray sharks. Widely distributed throughout the world and lives both in the ocean and on the coast, and is one of the most common sharks on Earth. It has an elongated body, with elongated pectoral fins. It is quite large in size and can reach a length of 4 meters. The name of this shark corresponds to its color (blue back and blue belly). The speed that this fairly common subtropical shark can develop is 65-69 km/h.

Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) – 70 km/h

Yellowfin tuna is a fish from the mackerel family that plays a significant role in the fishing industry. It is found in all tropical and temperate latitudes of the world's oceans, but is absent in the Mediterranean Sea. It has impressive dimensions for commercial fish - 2-2.5 meters in length, and weight reaches 200 kg. Its grayish body is crossed by about 20 longitudinal white-yellow lines. These large fish are capable of swimming at speeds of up to 70 km/h.

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) – 74 km/h

Atlantic bluefin tuna- one of the fastest fish. It can reach speeds of up to 74 km/h. Bluefin tuna got its name due to its color: the back is blue-gray, bluish in color, and the belly is silver. These fish are warm-blooded, which is quite rare among fish. Thanks to this, fish feel good in both cold and warm waters.

Mackerel – 77 km/h

Few people know that such a common commercial fish as mackerel(Scomber), capable of developing very high speed. During spawning or in a cast, it can swim at speeds of up to 70-77 km/h. I wonder what mackerels hold on to in large groups, in which all the fish are the same size.

Marlin (lat. Makaira) – 80 km/h.
Pictured is an Indo-Pacific blue marlin

Marlins from the family of sailfish, their body length can be compared with some species of sharks, since they can grow up to 4 m, but in terms of speed, marlins significantly outpace both sharks and many other aquatic inhabitants. These fish can rush at a speed of 80 km/h. It is interesting that it was marlin that was hunted by the hero of the story “The Old Man and the Sea” (E. Hemingway).

Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) – 109 km/h

The fastest fish also belongs to the marlin family. Sailfish got into the Guinness Book of Records thanks to the incredible speed that it can develop. The fish has a characteristic sail-shaped dorsal fin, which gives the species its name. When sailboats sail on high speed, dorsal, anal and pelvic fins are folded and retracted into special recesses on the body of the fish. The sailfish is an active predator and can reach speeds of up to 100 km/h. In a series of tests conducted at the Long Key fishing camp in Florida, USA, the sailfish swam 91 m in 3 seconds, which is equivalent to a speed of 109 km/h.