230,000 of marine species are recorded so far although an exact number cannot be given. New species of ocean animals are being discovered by scientists every day! There is still a long way from knowing everything about the ocean - it was only in 1977 that deep sea hydrothermal vents were discovered on the ocean floor -scientists discovered thousands of animals that had never been seen before.
The biggest marine creature is the whale shark. It can grow up to 12.2 m. in length and can weigh up to 13.6 tonnes. The shark is found in tropical and warm oceans and lives in the open sea and can live for about 70 years.
The smallest fish in the world - Paedocypris is an Indonesian fish occurring in freshwater. The smallest mature female measured 7.9 mm and the largest known individual 10.3 mm.
When it comes to marine species – the most petite fish is Schindleria brevipinguis known as the stout infantfish. It is native to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea. The species grows to a maximum total length of 8.4 mm with males being mature at a length of 7 mm.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant agreement n. 217766 