Ocean Facts for Kids
Deep-sea facts and ocean wonders
When threatened, a pufferfish can rapidly swallow water to inflate its body into a spiky ball, making it very difficult for predators to swallow. Some species also contain a deadly poison called tetrodotoxin.
Seagrass meadows can store carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests, making them incredibly important in the fight against climate change. They also provide nursery habitats for many species of fish.
Sperm whales can hold their breath for up to two hours and dive to depths of over 2,000 metres in search of giant squid to eat. They have the largest brain of any animal that has ever lived.
Cleaner wrasse fish set up 'cleaning stations' on coral reefs where larger fish line up to have parasites and dead skin removed. Even predatory fish stay calm at these stations and do not eat the tiny cleaners.
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of all the world's oceans. It is covered by sea ice for much of the year and is home to polar bears, walruses, and narwhals.
The box jellyfish is considered one of the most venomous creatures on Earth, with tentacles up to 3 metres long that can deliver a sting painful enough to cause heart failure in humans. They have 24 eyes arranged in four groups.
Most of Earth's volcanic activity happens underwater along the Mid-Ocean Ridge, where molten rock pours out and creates new ocean floor. This process has been building the ocean floor for hundreds of millions of years.
Emperor penguins can dive deeper than any other bird, reaching depths of over 560 metres. They can also hold their breath for more than 20 minutes as they hunt for fish and squid beneath Antarctic ice.
Some areas of the ocean are called 'dead zones' because they contain so little oxygen that most sea life cannot survive there. These zones are growing larger due to pollution from fertilisers washing off farmland.
Manatees, sometimes called sea cows, are more closely related to elephants than to any other marine mammal. They are gentle herbivores that graze on underwater plants for up to eight hours a day.