Learning with Katie and Shelly: Sea Creatures Fun Facts for Curious Kids!

April 12, 2024
All, Learn

Calling all young explorers! Are you ready to discover more strange and amazing sea creatures? Get your goggles on and follow Katie and Shelly as they uncover their secrets! Here are the ten sea creatures we’re going to explore this time!

Whale Shark
Anglerfish
Green Humphead Parrotfish
Portuguese Man O’ War
Oarfish
Blanket Octopus
Giant Isopod
Lionfish
Sea Pig
Coelacanths

Whale Shark

Whale shark has dots on their body. Every whale shark has their own unique pattern. These dots are like their version of fingerprints!
They are slow swimmers.
The whale shark is famous for its huge mouth. It can spread up to 1.3m wide!
Unlike most animals, whale sharks don’t have eyelids to cover their eyes. They have tiny teeth -called dermal denticles – covering their eyeballs!

Anglerfish

Females are larger than males. Males are only 1/10 the size of a female anglerfish!
They use lights to lure fishes in!
Male anglerfish always stick onto their female partner.

Green Humphead Parrotfish

Parrotfishes’ mouths look like a beak. It is even harder than some metals!
They like eating algae and coral!
They will poop out digested coral into white sand. One of the beaches in Hawaii is said to have most of its sand coming from their poop.
Parrotfishes sleep inside a sleeping bubble made by their mucus to protect themselves from parasites!

Portuguese Man O' War

They are actually made up of 4 different types of polyps (a tiny animal): the gas-filled bladder polyp that sits above the water, the tentacles-like polyp, the polyp that acts as the stomach and the fourth polyp that helps with breeding.
They can’t swim, so they simply drift along the waves.
The tentacles can be as long as 50m!

Oarfish

They are the longest bony fish in the world!
They don’t have scales. Instead, they have a silvery coat called guanine.
Most of their organs are close to the head, so even if the tail gets cut off, they can still survive!
Their body can glow underwater to attract fishes!
They swim vertically just to look for food from below. Swimming this way also makes them look smaller so bigger fish won’t notice them!

Blanket Octopus

Only female blanket octopuses have blankets!
They use their blanket to look bigger to scare away predators. Some can even detach the cape when they are in extreme danger!
Male blanket octopuses are tiny, merely 2.4cm, compared to their female counterparts that are almost 2m long.
They are immune to jellyfish stings. Male and immature female blanket octopuses can also rip toxic tentacles off these jellyfish to use as a weapon! Wow!

Giant Isopod

Giant Isopods live on the deep sea bed and eat anything they can find!
They can grow up to 40cm! This is the result of deep sea gigantism, where deep sea animals grow to a larger size than similar species in shallower waters.
They are always in semi-hibernation, unless there’s food!
Even with hard outer shells, they aren’t bugs! They are cousins of crabs and shrimps.
Giant Isopods will curl up into a ball when feel threatened!

Lionfish

Lionfish have venomous spines. A lionfish sting is extremely painful; fortunately, the injuries are rarely fatal.
They warn other fish that they are dangerous through their red, white black stripes!
They have HUGE appetite. Their stomach can expand up to 30 times its regular size.
A female lionfish can lay up to 2 million eggs per year!

Sea Pig

Sea pigs are actually sea cucumbers. They got their name from their pink-coloured body and their love for the deep sea muddy seafloor!
They walk instead of swim!
They have tentacles around their mouth that help them dig up food.
Sea pigs are like deep sea earthworms! They increase the amount of oxygen in deep sea mud by eating it, making it more livable for other animals.
They are also caretakers. Young crabs are often found clinging onto their undersides.

Coelacanths

Coelacanths are living fossils! We thought they were extinct until they were found in Africa in 1938.
Their appearance hasn’t changed in 70 million years.
Coelacanths don’t have backbones! They have a notochord which is an oil-filled tube that keeps them afloat and flexible.
They can unhinge their jaw just to eat larger food!

To wrap up our deep dive into the fascinating world of sea creatures, we hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these incredible ocean dwellers with both Katie and Shelly! We’ll be waiting for you to rejoin our adventures in “Brave Katie and the Great Ocean Adventure”. See you soon!