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| where you want to be | by Mahin Fayaz on Flickr |
| This is an Ocean. Oceans cover more than 71% of the Earth's surface. - There are 5 Oceans on planet Earth:
- Pacific Ocean - Largest Ocean
- Atlantic Ocean
- Indian Ocean
- Arctic Ocean and
- Southern Ocean
- Ocean biome is home to the largest known mammal of the world - the blue whale.
- Ocean biome contains Coral Reefs which is actually its own separate biome.
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| Great Barrier Reef 008 | by babasteve on Flickr |
| Corals are animals in the Phylum Cnidaria.
- Coral produces eggs.
- Hard Corals have a white skeleton that is made out of Lime stone.
- Corals inhabit a wide range of habitats and regions.
- Corals are rare in the fossil record.
- Sea fan Corals grow at right angles to the current of the water.
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| false twins -jellyfishes | by marfis75 on Flickr |
| Jellyfishes are made up of more than 95% of water. - A jelly fish has a simple digestive system with only one opening.
- Jellyfish have no brain, no blood, and no nervous system.
- A jellyfish`s body consists of three layers.
- Jellyfish belong to the Phylum Cnidaria.
- There are about 200 species of True Jellyfishes.
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| Something's Fishy... | by *~Dawn~* on Flickr |
| Tropical fish have bright colors and unusual shapes and sizes. - Fishes are divided into three basic groups which include cartilaginous fishes, bony fishes, and lobe-finned fishes.
- Fishes were the first animals to evolve backbones.
- The ray finned fishes are the largest group of fish.
- Some species of fish migrate between freshwater and marine environments to spawn.
- Fishes are cold blooded animals.
- Fishes move by creating a wave motion that moves the length of it`s body.
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| Loggerhead Turtle | by timsackton (on vacation) on Flickr |
| Sea Turtles eat jellyfish, seaweeds, crabs, shrimps, sponges, snails, algae and mollusks. - Sea Turtles are found in all warm and temperate waters throughout the world and migrate hundred of miles between nesting and feeding grounds.
- Sea Turtles spend most of their life in the water.
- Sea Turtles are one of the Earth`s most ancient creatures.
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| Starfish | by Enygmatic-Halycon on Flickr |
| Starfish belongs to the Phylum Echinodermata. - Star fishes are beautiful animals that can be variety of colors, shapes and sizes, although all resemble a star.
- They move using hundreds of tube feet, which is located on their underside.
- Instead of blood, sea stars have a water vascular system, in which the sea star pumps sea water through it`s sieve plate, or madreporite, into it`s tube feet to extend them.
- There are about 2,000 species of seastars.
- Some live in the intertidal zone, some in deep water, some in tropical areas, and some in cold water.
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| Seaweed Wall | by Orin Zebest on Flickr |
| Seaweeds can be found in different colors - Red, green or brown. - Seaweed is like an underwater weed because it grows freely and often times plentiful, but they are not true vascular plants, they are marine algae.
- Seaweed is gathered at beaches, near shore waters, or floating on the water`s surface.
- It is one of the sources we use for food.
- They also grow in different shapes and sizes.
- It is mostly found near the shore, in the intertidal zone.
- Seaweeds can be very tiny or stretch to 300ft or 100m.
- Also seaweeds can live up to 500 meters deep in the sea.
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| Purple pippi | by lotus8 on Flickr |
| Shells are the hard, protective coverings that are parts of many land and sea body. - Shells are exoskeletons protecting the creatures living inside.
- They grow as the animal or creature inside grows.
- Shelled creatures lay eggs, which are also shell covered.
- Some creatures are called shellfish because their entire bodies are covered by a thick shell.
- Shrimp, lobster and crabs are examples of shellfish.
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| Sea Cucumber | by poplinre on Flickr |
| Sea Cucumbers resemble a cucumber. - Sea Cucumber is found in wide range of colors from white to shades of brown.
- They are covered in spines or warts, with suctions on their underside that they use to move across the ocean floor.
- The mouth, located on one end of the sea cucumber, is lined with eight to 30 tube feet, which they use to grab their food.
- Their anus is on the opposite end, which they use to breath and excrete digested food.
- Most sea cucumbers eat small organisms such as algae or plankton, but others eat sediment from the sea floor and waste from other animals.
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| Dolphins in Pine Island Sound | by pmarkham on Flickr |
| Dolphins are mammals; this means that they nurse their babies with milk from the mothers. - Dolphins can swim up to 26 cm below the surface of the ocean.
- Dolphins can stay up to 15 minutes underwater, but they cannot breathe underwater.
- There are 36 different kinds of ocean dolphins.The largest dolphin is killer whale.
- Dolphins are warm blooded.
- The most known dolphin is bottle nose dolphin.
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