Meet the creatures

Marine life

Meet sharks, whales, and other ocean neighbors. Choose a group to explore.

Creature search is available in the Python website.

Sharks

Blue shark

Prionace glauca

The blue shark has a slender body, a blue back, a pale belly, and long, narrow pectoral fins.

Did you know?

It lives offshore and is often found in cooler ocean water.
Its pectoral fins are the long fins on either side of its body.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Whale shark

Rhincodon typus

A giant fish with a wide mouth and a pattern of pale spots. Despite its name, a whale shark is a shark!

Did you know?

The whale shark is the largest fish in the world.
It feeds on tiny plankton, filtering food from the water.

Fact source: WWF

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Blacktip reef shark

Carcharhinus melanopterus

A reef shark with dark tips on its fins, a rounded snout, and a pale belly.

Did you know?

It lives in shallow reef waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
It often swims in small groups and eats mainly reef fish.

Fact source: National Aquarium

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Great white shark

Carcharodon carcharias

A large shark with a gray back and a white underside. It is also known as the white shark.

Did you know?

Its broad, triangular teeth have serrated edges, like a saw.
Young white sharks eat fish and other smaller animals; larger ones can also hunt seals and sea lions.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Nurse shark

Ginglymostoma cirratum

A brownish shark with a broad, rounded head. It spends much of its time close to the ocean floor.

Did you know?

Two whisker-like barbels near its nostrils help it find food.
It often rests in groups during the day and hunts alone at night.

Fact source: National Aquarium

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Tiger shark

Galeocerdo cuvier

A large shark with a blunt snout and dark markings along its sides.

Did you know?

Its tiger-like stripes become less noticeable as it grows older.
It lives in tropical and warm temperate seas, from coastal bays to open water.

Fact source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Bull shark

Carcharhinus leucas

A stocky, gray shark with a white belly and a short, rounded snout.

Did you know?

It can tolerate both salt water and fresh water.
It lives in coastal waters and estuaries, and sometimes travels far up rivers.

Fact source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Scalloped hammerhead shark

Sphyrna lewini

A shark with a wide, hammer-shaped head and a curved front edge with small notches.

Did you know?

It lives in warm coastal waters around the world.
It can grow to about 3.4 meters (11 feet) long.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Lemon shark

Negaprion brevirostris

A large, coastal shark having a unique pale yellow-brown skin.

Did you know?

Its pale coloring helps it blend in over sandy sea bottoms.
It is often found in shallow coastal water near reefs and mangroves.

Fact source: Florida Museum

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Thresher shark

Pelagic thresher · Alopias pelagicus

A blue-gray shark with an upper tail fin almost as long as the rest of its body.

Did you know?

It swings its long tail to stun small fish and squid before catching them.
Pelagic threshers live in the open waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Fact source: Florida Museum

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Basking shark

Cetorhinus maximus

An enormous shark that swims near the surface with its wide mouth open.

Did you know?

It is the world's second-largest fish, after the whale shark.
It filters tiny zooplankton from seawater as it swims.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Shortfin mako shark

Isurus oxyrinchus

A streamlined shark with a pointed snout, a dark blue-gray back, and a white underside.

Did you know?

It hunts squid and ocean fish, including tuna and swordfish.
It travels long distances across tropical and temperate oceans.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Angel shark

Angelshark · Squatina squatina

A flat, sandy-colored shark whose wide fins can make it look like a ray.

Did you know?

It can hide on the seafloor by burying itself in sand.
It bursts from its hiding place to catch passing fish and other prey.

Fact source: Shark Trust

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Greenland shark

Somniosus microcephalus

A slow-growing shark that lives in very cold northern seas.

Did you know?

Scientists estimate it can live at least 250 years.
Some Greenland sharks may live more than 500 years.

Fact source: NOAA Ocean Service

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Whales

Humpback whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

A whale with long flippers and a powerful tail. Humpbacks travel through oceans around the world.

Did you know?

Humpbacks filter small fish and krill from the water.
Some work together to surround their food with a net of bubbles.
Scientists can recognize individual whales by the patterns on their tails.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Blue whale

Balaenoptera musculus

A long, blue-gray whale with a small dorsal fin. The blue whale is the largest animal ever known to live on Earth.

Did you know?

It eats mostly krill, which are tiny shrimp-like animals.
It uses baleen plates in its mouth to strain food from seawater.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Sperm whale

Physeter macrocephalus

A gray whale with a huge, box-shaped head and wrinkled skin. It is the largest toothed whale.

Did you know?

It makes deep dives to hunt squid, fish, and other ocean animals.
Its head makes up about one-third of its body length.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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A white adult beluga and its darker calf swimming at the surface in Cook Inlet, Alaska. — Photo: Janice Waite / NOAA / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Beluga whale

Delphinapterus leucas

A small toothed whale from Arctic waters and nearby seas. Adults are white, but young calves are dark gray.

Did you know?

It has a ridge along its back instead of a dorsal fin.
It makes many sounds, including whistles, chirps, and clicks.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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A black-and-white orca leaping out of the sea while another orca swims nearby. — Photo: NOAA Fisheries / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Killer whale (orca)

Orcinus orca

A black-and-white toothed whale. Also called an orca, it is the largest member of the dolphin family.

Did you know?

Most live in family groups called pods and communicate with underwater sounds.
Different populations eat different foods: some specialize in fish, while others hunt marine mammals.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Other creatures

An underwater coral reef with small fish swimming above it. — Photo: Jerry Reid / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Corals

Tiny animals, living together

A reef may look like an underwater garden, but corals are animals. Many corals form colonies of tiny creatures called polyps.

Did you know?

Coral polyps use tiny tentacles to catch food from the water.
Many polyps build hard skeletons that contribute to a coral reef.

Fact source: NOAA Ocean Service

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Clownfish

Amphiprion ocellaris

A small orange fish with white bands, pictured among a sea anemone's tentacles.

Did you know?

Clownfish are also called anemonefish.
They can swim among anemones' stinging tentacles without being stung.

Fact source: Smithsonian Ocean

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Ocean sunfish

Mola mola

A large, flattened ocean fish with a rounded body and a short tail.

Did you know?

It lives in tropical and temperate oceans around the world.
Ocean sunfish often stay near the surface, but they can dive deep too.

Fact source: Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Sea turtle

Green sea turtle · Chelonia mydas

A green sea turtle is a marine reptile with a broad shell and flippers for swimming.

Did you know?

Green sea turtles eat mostly seagrass and algae.
Adult females return to sandy beaches to lay their eggs.

Fact source: NOAA Fisheries

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Octopus

Day octopus · Octopus cyanea

A day octopus can blend into the colors and shapes of a reef.

Did you know?

Unlike many octopuses, this species searches for food during daylight.
It can change the color and texture of its skin to hide among rocks and corals.

Fact source: Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Several translucent moon jellies floating in blue aquarium water. — Photo: Kushina Dahlia / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

Jellyfish

Moon jelly · Aurelia aurita

Moon jellies have clear, round bells and short, delicate tentacles.

Did you know?

A moon jelly's bell can grow about as wide as a dinner plate.
When food is scarce, moon jellies can shrink and later grow again.

Fact source: National Aquarium

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Dumbo octopus

Grimpoteuthis spp.

A rare, deep-sea octopus with two large, ear-like fins that help it swim.

Did you know?

Dumbo octopuses have been found as deep as 4,000 meters.
Unlike many other octopuses, they do not have an ink sac.

Fact source: NOAA Ocean Exploration

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Giant isopod

Bathynomus giganteus

A large, armored crustacean related to the pill bugs found on land.

Did you know?

Its fourteen legs help it walk along the seafloor.
It scavenges fish remains and other food that sinks from above.

Fact source: Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Photo credits

Real ocean photographs, shared by their creators. Each photo links to its original source and reuse information.

Blue shark — Morhua / Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0.
Whale shark — Jean-Paul Boerekamps / iNaturalist / Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0.
Humpback whale — NOAA / Wikimedia Commons; source edits: Jdforrester and Ed g2s. Public domain.
Corals — Jerry Reid / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Clownfish — Jenny from Taipei / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0.
Ocean sunfish — NOAA / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Sea turtle — James St. John / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0.
Octopus — Debra Baker / iNaturalist / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Jellyfish — Kushina Dahlia / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Dumbo octopus — NOAA Okeanos Explorer / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Giant isopod — Eric Kilby / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Blacktip reef shark — Charles J. Sharp / Sharp Photography / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Great white shark — Terry Goss (Pterantula) / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nurse shark — Gary Rinaldi / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Tiger shark — Albert Kok / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bull shark — Terry Goss (Pterantula) / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Scalloped hammerhead shark — Barry Peters / Wikimedia Commons; source crop: Yzx. CC BY 2.0.
Lemon shark — Albert Kok / Wikimedia Commons; source edit: watermark removed by Scewing. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Thresher shark — Pierre Pericard / iNaturalist / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Basking shark — Chris Gotschalk / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Shortfin mako shark — Fábio Olmos / iNaturalist / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Angel shark — Julien Renoult / iNaturalist / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.
Greenland shark — Hemming1952 / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Blue whale — NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Sperm whale — NOAA Photo Library / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0.
Beluga whale — Janice Waite / NOAA / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Killer whale (orca) — NOAA Fisheries / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Blue shark, blacktip reef shark, tiger shark, coral reef, dumbo octopus, and giant isopod images use the source's smaller versions. The hammerhead source was cropped by Yzx. No photos were cropped or recolored locally for this website.

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