Marine animals: surprising facts and useful knowledge

Oceanmata is all about fascinating marine animals and how we can protect them from plastic pollution and other threats . Numerous species are now seriously threatened with extinction, even though, as we all know, the origin of life lies in the water.

It's therefore hardly surprising that the marine ecosystem produces so many impressive inhabitants with truly miraculous abilities and feats. In this article, you'll find a brief overview of the underwater creatures and many amazing facts you've probably never heard before!

A marine animal is—of course—an animal whose primary habitat is the sea. In the broadest sense, this also includes certain seabirds, such as penguins. Seals and sea turtles, all of which lay their eggs and give birth to their young on land, are also marine animals.

Around 2.2 million of the approximately 8.7 million known organisms belong to the genus of marine animals. While the term usually immediately brings to mind fish, dolphins, and whales, the majority of these creatures are microbes , such as bacteria, fungi, algae, and paramecium. These form the basis of the food chain of all marine animals and are therefore incredibly important for the preservation of the marine ecosystem. In general, however, the animals living in the sea can be divided into the following groups:

• Sponges
• Cnidarians, such as jellyfish or anemones
• Annelids, e.g. the lugworm
• Molluscs, such as mussels
• Arthropods, including crabs
• Echinoderms, such as starfish or sea urchins
• Vertebrates, i.e. fish and marine mammals, such as whales and many more

We've already dedicated a special edition to some of these sea creatures. Through the sale of these products, we support the important projects of several organizations dedicated to protecting the ocean's impressive inhabitants.

These armored creatures are extremely popular, and seeing one in the wild is always a real highlight. Have you ever experienced this? Many people know that turtles can live to a very old age, but did you know the following facts?

• The sex of a baby turtle depends on the temperature of the sand the egg is nested in. At a temperature of around 28.5 degrees Celsius, male turtles will hatch, whereas at 32.5 degrees Celsius, female turtles will hatch.

• Turtles have existed on this planet for around 220 million years, thus predating the dinosaurs . It is therefore all the more dramatic that numerous species are now acutely threatened with extinction.
• Turtles can actually cry ! That sounds sadder than it actually is. The reason for the tears is simply that turtles need to excrete the sea salt, and this happens through their tear glands.

You can also find more exciting facts like these in our blog article about "World Sea Turtle Day," which takes place every year in June.

We've also dedicated a special collection to these lovable marine mammals with our "Dolphin Edition." Reason enough, then, to provide you with interesting information about dolphins here as well!

• Wow! Did you know that dolphins have sex 20 to 30 times a day?! That's roughly 80% of their lives spent making love.
• Dolphins can see, hear, and swim right from birth . However, the baby dolphin still has to learn to breathe . Because dolphins are mammals, they need to surface about every 15 minutes to breathe. During the first few days, the baby receives help from its mother or other group members.

• Speaking of groups, dolphins are highly social creatures and live in so-called pods of up to 1,000 animals. They support each other and even care for wounded or sick group members.

This year, we've also been increasingly committed to coral conservation and, together with the organization EcosystemImpact, are planning to plant a coral reef off Sumatra, Indonesia. However, few people can impress with their knowledge of corals. Therefore, we've compiled the most important facts about these colorful creatures for you!

• Right at the beginning, we need to clarify one thing: Corals are not plants, but animals ! However, they cannot move and remain in one place their entire lives, which is why they are often mistaken for fixed plants. Because they lack limbs and a face, corals are classified as cnidarians .

• For years, researchers have been studying a special active ingredient in soft coral. It is suspected that this natural substance could block tumor growth in breast cancer and other types of cancer. However, there are no conclusive results yet.
• The world's largest coral reef is located in Australia: the famous Great Barrier Reef . It covers an incredible 2,300 km, roughly the distance from Augsburg to the southernmost point of Spain. The Great Barrier Reef is also home to six of the world's seven species of sea turtle .

But corals are such complex and important organisms for our ecosystem that we've dedicated several blog articles to them. You can find these under the "Blog" section of our website. You'll also find regular updates on our collaboration with EcosystemImpact.

In September 2021, we will be expanding our collections and offering a Shark Case . Many shark species are seriously threatened with extinction. Unfortunately, the great white shark, in particular, is still often viewed as a monstrous killing machine . Yet sharks are among the most impressive and important creatures of the sea!

• Did you know that sharks don't have bones ? Their skeletons are made of cartilage, which is why they, like rays, are cartilaginous fish.
• Lost a tooth? Not so bad with sharks. They can constantly produce new teeth —even up to 30,000 in a lifetime. A shark's dentition consists of up to eight rows of teeth. As soon as a tooth is lost, one simply moves from the back row to the front and replaces it.

• Sharks do indeed have a sixth sense . More precisely, it's an additional sensory organ that helps them track their prey. Sharks have numerous tiny pores beneath the skin on their heads. Through these, they sense bioelectric fields and electrochemical reactions in their bodies, such as the heartbeat of a flatfish buried in the sand. These cells are called ampullae of Lorenzini .

But besides these impressive sea creatures, there are a multitude of other truly extraordinary marine animals that stand out either for their distinctive appearance or their incredible abilities. We've collected the most impressive creatures for you here.

A crab may sound quite ordinary at first, but this species of crab is fascinating because of its incredible size . The Japanese giant crab's legs stretch out to an incredible 3.7 meters! This makes it one of the largest living crab species.

This sea creature not only looks... well, let's say... special, it also has a very interesting reproductive process . Some female porcupine worms carry, in addition to their eggs, so-called dwarf males in their uterus, which are responsible for a steady supply of offspring.

The goblin shark also looks quite unique. With its long snout, crooked teeth, and misshapen shape, this shark could have come from the imagination of a horror filmmaker . In fact, this species of shark has inhabited the world's oceans for 125 million years . However, since it is only found at depths of up to 1,300 meters and is so rare, hardly anyone sees a living specimen.

As the name suggests, this fish has a completely transparent head . Thanks to this transparent hood, the glasshead fish can see in all directions, especially for jellyfish , its favorite food. At the same time, this transparent layer protects it from the painful stinging cells of the jellyfish.

This extraordinary fish is the longest living bony fish . These typically grow up to 10 meters long, but there are reports of oarfish reaching 17 meters in length. Therefore, it's not surprising that ancient sailors considered these gigantic fish to be true sea monsters .

This clam lives up to its name because—here's the kicker—it's capable of emitting flashes of blue light ! This serves the simple purpose of warding off predators . Scientists believe these flashes are caused by ambient light reflecting off various parts of the clam's soft tissue. The disco clam is the only species in which this behavior has been observed.

Animals in general, and especially underwater creatures, are truly fascinating creatures! To help you shine like a disco clam with your useless knowledge in the future, we've compiled the craziest facts for you in a quick overview!

• Whales are warm-blooded , and this becomes especially critical when they strand. After their death, their internal organs decompose, releasing decomposition gases. These gases spread, causing the whale to bloat further and further, and ultimately the carcass explodes . A very unpleasant event!
• And another sad fact about the gentle giants of the sea. Since whales belong to the mammal family, they have to make a conscious decision to breathe, as they can only hold their breath underwater for about 15 minutes. So, if a whale is particularly sad, it can simply commit suicide . Unfortunately, this behavior has already been observed in captive whales.

• Giant squid were long considered unknown, as they live at depths of around 500 to 1,000 meters. They were first discovered with the advent of deep-sea fishing or washed up on various beaches. What's so special about this sea creature? It's believed that a fully grown giant squid can reach an incredible total length of 12 meters ! But who knows what other well-kept secrets the deep sea holds for us.
• It's not only royalty who have blue blood! Squid and lobsters share this trait and both have blue-greenish blood . This is due to the copper in the blood, which, when combined with oxygen, turns bluish.
• And squid are far from the norm in more ways than one. These sea creatures also have three hearts ! The central heart is at the center, supported by two additional so-called gill hearts.

• The fish with the white and orange stripes have become famous worldwide since the box office hit "Finding Nemo." But clownfish also exhibit impressive social behavior. If a female dies in a group of clownfish, a replacement is quickly found. The most dominant male in the group simply transforms into a female . Crazy, right?

As you can see, the underwater world is even more wondrous than one might sometimes imagine. And yet, according to estimates, only 5% of the oceans have been explored ! So who knows what previously unknown, impressive creatures inhabit the oceans.

This makes it all the more important for us humans to treat our earth and the oceans with respect and preserve their impressive biodiversity ! According to scientists, marine animals are now even more threatened by climate change than biodiversity on land.