Childrens Illustrated Animal Atlas

89

Just one yellowfin tuna
can weigh up to 882 lb
(400 kg), although
388 lb (176 kg) is
more common.

Common bottlenose dolphin

The bottlenose is very smart. It loves to

play, riding in the wakes of boats and

ships. Some have even been known to

help fishermen by driving fish into their

nets in return for some of the catch!

Common sea urchin

The common sea urchin moves along

the ocean floor using “tube feet”—

suckerlike tips that stick out from

its spines. It eats seaweed, mollusks,

corals, and anemones.

Sardines

This fish grows up to 16^1 ⁄ 2 ft

(5 m) long. Sturgeons are

endangered, because people

kill them for their eggs, which

are eaten as caviar.

Beluga sturgeon

With its big forehead

and short beak, this

dolphin looks more like a

small whale. Each baby,

or calf, is born about

3 ft (1 m) long.

Irrawaddy

dolphin

Found in warm

ocean waters, green

sea turtles have

green-colored fat—

that’s what gives

them their name.

Green

turtle

Sperm whales can dive

9,501 ft (2,896 m) deep in

search of octopus, fish,

and giant squid to eat.

They can hold their breath

for up to 90 minutes!

Sperm whale

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Blue mussels

The whale shark isn’t a whale,

but a whale-sized fish. It grows

to about 39^1 ⁄ 2 ft (12 m) long,

and it eats mostly plankton.

Whale

shark

If threatened by a predator,

the porcupine fish “puffs

up” by swallowing air or

water. This makes it a very

uncomfortable mouthful.

Porcupine fish

This crab’s legs never stop

growing. They can stretch

13 ft (4 m) from the tip of

one claw to the other!

Japanese

spider crab

The giant Pacific octopus

grows up to 29^1 ⁄ 2 ft (9 m)

long. The female lays up to

100,000 eggs at a time.

Giant Pacific

octopus

Seawater is full of tiny plants

and animals that are often

too small to see without a

microscope. This is plankton.

Most food chains in the ocean

start with these miniature

life forms.

Plankton

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