General
Not just in the sea, but all over our planet, it is the invertebrates which are the more numerous. In fact, it has been estimated that one group of animals, the nematode worms, account for 80% of all the animals on earth – that’s 4 out of every five animals. Of course, these numbers only apply for the multi-cellular animals, there are many more single-celled organisms, like protozoa and bacterial, and all the single celled plant types as well, and even viruses. These forms of life are by far the most abundant on earth. |
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There are two extremely dangerous animals in the sea:Read more |
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The Atlantic sailfish (stiophorus albicans) is the fastest marine fish. It is found in the Atlantic Oceans and the Caribbean Sea, except for large areas of the central North Atlantic and the central South Atlantic, from the surface to depths of 200 m. The Atlantic Sailfish is related to the Marlin. Length is up to 3.15 m, and the maximum published weight is 58.1 kg. It reaches speed up to 100 km.p.h. what is interesting, the fastest animal on land –cheetah- reaches the same enormous speed. |
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Living fossil is a term for any living species of organism which appears to be the same as a species otherwise only known from fossils and has no close living relatives. These species have all survived major extinction events (i.e glaciation). So a living fossil is a kind of natural hero. And there are living fossils also in the sea. Here are some interesting examples to mention: |
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We cannot evaluate which animal is the most important and which is not. Every single living creature is important in some way. Ocean is a huge ecosystem meaning a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment. They are all integrally connected. So if one element is missing, the whole unit is unbalanced and cannot function properly.Read more |
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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. Read more |
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