162 Animals and Habitats: Supplemental Guide 8A | Animals of the Saltwater Habitat
Show image 8A-4: Ocean fl oor
The interesting thing about the ocean fl oor, which is the land
under the ocean water, is that it isn’t fl at. As on land, the earth
beneath the ocean waters has both mountains and valleys. 3 This
makes some areas of water in the ocean deeper than others.
The Pacifi c Ocean is full of both plant and animal life, but not all
of them share the same space. The conditions under the water are
very different in various places. Some parts are deep, and some
are shallow;^4 there are cool parts, and there are warm parts;
some are dark, and some are full of light.
Show image 8A-5: Sealife
There are plants and animals in nearly every part of the ocean—
some in the deep, open waters far from the land, and some in the
shallow waters closer to the shore. Some animals, like turtles,
jellyfi sh, and crabs, live closer to the shore where it’s shallower
and warmer.
Some animals like it better near the surface of the water, and
others prefer to live down at the very bottom of the ocean on the
deep ocean fl oor. They have all had to adapt to the conditions
of their habitats. For instance, the animals that live in the deeper
parts of the ocean have had to adapt to total darkness, because
the sun’s light just can’t reach that deep.
Some fi sh, like the devilfi sh, have very large mouths and sharp
teeth so that they can catch their prey as easily as possible. Other
sea creatures have feelers on their bodies that help them feel where
their food is. And some animals make their own light with special
chemicals in their bodies, like when you carry a fl ashlight in the dark!
Show image 8A-6: Coral reef
I have now arrived at a special part of a saltwater habitat called
a coral reef, which is made up of many tiny animals called corals.
Corals stay in one place all their adult lives. They have stomachs
and mouths and even skeletons! These skeletons can be on the
inside or outside of the coral animals and are also called coral.3 Mountains are areas of land
that are very high where the
land peaks. Valleys are areas of
land that are low and that are in
between two high areas, such as
mountains.
4 Shallow is the antonym, or
opposite, of deep—in other
words, not deep.