Marine Animal Facts
(The animals we are telling you about are listed below.)
* Jellyfish live mainly in the ocean, but they aren't actually fish -- they're plankton. These plants and animals either float in the water or possess such limited swimming powers that currents control their horizontal movements.
*Jellyfish are also members of the phylum Cnidaria, (from the Greek word for "stinging nettle") and the class Scyphozoa (from the Greek word for "cup," referring to the jellyfish's body shape).
*Jellyfish are about 98 percent water. If a jellyfish washes up on the beach, it will mostly disappear as the water evaporates.
*Most species of shark eat things like fish, crustaceans, mollusks, plankton, krill, marine mammals and other sharks.
*Sharks also have a very acute sense of smell that allows them to detect blood in the water from miles away.
*It is difficult to estimate population numbers since there are many different species spanning a large geographic area. However, overall shark numbers are on the decline due to the many threats they face in the wild
*What sea turtles eat depends on the subspecies, but some common items include jellyfish, seaweed, crabs, shrimp, sponges, snails, algae and mollusks.
*It is difficult to find population numbers for sea turtles because male and juvenile sea turtles do not return to shore once they hatch and reach the ocean, which makes it hard to keep track of them.
*Sea turtles are found in all warm and temperate waters throughout the world and migrate hundreds of miles between nesting and feeding grounds.
*All anemonefish, including clownfish, are hermaphrodites. They are all born male, according to National Geographic.
*Clownfish communicate by making popping and clicking noises.
*The white bands are outlined in black. Their bodies are a bit more than 3 inches (88 millimeters) long on average, but they may grow up to 4 inches (110 mm), according to the Animal Diversity Web.
* Starfish belongs to a large group of marine animals called echinoderms. They can be found in all oceans of the world.
* Their star-like shape is the reason why they are named starfish or sea stars. Most species have five arms, but there are sea stars with ten, twenty or even forty arms.
*Starfish vary in size. They usually have five to ten inches in length and weigh up to 11 pounds.