Ocean Facts for Kids
Deep-sea facts and ocean wonders
Sea lions are the fastest pinnipeds in the ocean, reaching swimming speeds of up to 40 kilometres per hour. Unlike seals, they can rotate their rear flippers forward to walk on land quite quickly.
The barreleye fish has a completely transparent head through which its large, tubular eyes can be seen. Its eyes rotate within its head and can look directly upwards to spot the silhouettes of prey above.
Some dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, carry sea sponges on their beaks to protect their snouts while they dig for fish hiding in the sandy seafloor. This tool use is taught from mother to daughter.
At sea level, the weight of the atmosphere pushes down on the ocean surface with a pressure of one atmosphere. For every 10 metres you descend underwater, the pressure increases by another atmosphere.
Loggerhead sea turtles can live for more than 70 years, and scientists believe some may live close to a century. They use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate and can travel tens of thousands of kilometres in their lifetime.
The lionfish is strikingly beautiful with its striped body and fan-like fins, but its spines deliver an extremely painful venomous sting. Native to the Pacific, it has become an invasive species in the Atlantic, threatening local reefs.
Weddell seals in Antarctica can dive to depths of 700 metres and stay submerged for over 80 minutes. They use their teeth to keep breathing holes open in the Antarctic ice and produce haunting trilling sounds to communicate.
The saltiness of the ocean, called salinity, varies in different parts of the world. The Red Sea is one of the saltiest seas because high temperatures cause a lot of evaporation and there are few rivers flowing into it.
Eelgrass and other seagrasses provide vital nursery habitats for juvenile fish, crabs, and other sea creatures along coastlines worldwide. They also slow down wave action and help stabilise the seafloor.
Cuttlefish can change the colour and texture of their skin in just milliseconds, creating stunning rippling patterns to communicate, camouflage, and dazzle prey. Despite being colour-blind, they produce some of the most complex colour displays in the animal kingdom.