Category Zoology

The angler fish lives in one of the most uninhabitable habitats in the world- the lightless bottom of the sea. Living at depths of at least 2000m this species lives its life in the complete absence of sunlight. Some of them live in the sea floor while others live close to the sea floor.

The angler fish won’t impress you with good looks. For many species of angler fish, the males are much smaller than females. The females have a piece of dorsal spine that protrudes above their mouths like a fishing pole. In fact, they get their name because of this feature.

The tips of the spine have luminous flesh that attracts prey. Using a muscular skin flap, a deep-sea anglerfish can either hide or reveal its lighted lure. By pulsing the light and moving the lure back and forth, they successfully attract crustaceans, fishes, and other prey. Their bodies are flexible and mouths so big that they can swallow prey that is thrice their size.

Many of you might have spotted lion fish in aquariums. A fish with a unique appearance, it is an invasive predator. Its fins are venomous and are capable of producing painful, puncture wounds. A sting from a lionfish is extremely painful to humans and can cause nausea and breathing difficulties.

This fish is endemic to the South Pacific and Indian oceans. Lion fish corner their prey against reefs and rocks, then strike suddenly to swallow the prey as a whole. They have the unique ability to expand their stomachs to accommodate prey of larger sizes.

The best known lion fish species is perhaps the red lion fish with red-and-white zebra stripes. Their venom is dangerous and it has lightning-fast reflexes to capture prey, mainly fish and shrimp.

Lion fish threaten reef systems by preying on fish that clean the reef and keep it healthy.

The lion’s mane jellyfish is the world’s largest jellyfish. It is usually found in colder oceans like the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and northern Pacific Oceans. The lion’s mane jellyfish gets its name from its tentacles which resemble the mane of a lion. These tentacles grow up to a size of three metres and are packed with stinging cells. They are used to catch their favourite fish, smaller jellyfish and zooplankton.

It is interesting to watch a lion’s mane jellyfish catch its prey. At first, it delivers a sting loaded with neurotoxins and when the prey is immobilized, it is moved to its mouth using specialized tentacles called oral arms.

Scientific research has suggested that jellyfish actually thrive in areas that are affected by human activity. Overfishing, climate change and pollution have helped promote more jellyfish swarms by reducing their main predators and competitors and increasing their prey.

Picture Credit : Google

The octopus is a unique animal. It is intelligent, and has a sharp vision and a devastating array of offensive organs for attacking the prey. It is a fast swimmer, too. These qualities make the octopus a supreme predator.

Octopuses vary a great deal in size; the smallest is about 5 cm long, while the largest species may grow to 5.4 metres in length and have an arm span of almost 9 metres! They inhabit various regions of the ocean, including coral reefs, open sea waters, and the seabed.

The body of an octopus is designed for hunting. Its skin cells have the ability to change colour with the help of which it camouflages near rocks and the coral reefs. Its tentacles have muscular discs that help it catch prey. The octopus usually ambushes its prey; when a suitable prey comes, it shoots out one of its eight long tentacles and traps it. It usually feeds on crabs, shrimps and lobsters though it can attack larger prey like sharks as well.

Picture Credit : Google

The crown-of-thorns starfish is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony coral polyps. It is the world’s second largest starfish and grows up to the size of one meter. It has venomous thorn-like spines that cover its upper surface, resembling the biblical crown of thorns, and that is how it got its name.

The crown-of-thorns starfish is a well-known coral predator. It eats coral prey by extruding the stomach out from its body, covering the corals. An individual starfish can consume up to 6 square metres of living coral reef per year. Its spines are somewhat flexible; they are used for locomotion and for defence from potential predators.

The crown-of-thorns starfish are an important part of the ecosystem in normal numbers on healthy coral reefs. If more than 30 crown-of-thorns starfish are found in a hectare, it is called an outbreak. Outbreaks have been known to cause serious harm to coral reefs in some areas.

Sea anemones are known for their beauty; with their spectacular white, green, blue or red patterns and circles of petal-like tentacles, sea anemones have the appearance of harmless underwater flowers. It is with this appearance that they manage to deceive a lot of marine creatures.

More than 1,000 sea anemone species are found throughout the world’s oceans at various depths in varying sizes- some are as small as half an inch, while others may grow up to a size of six feet! Warmer seas are home to the largest and most colourful sea anemones.

Sea anemones are close relatives of jellyfish and corals. They do not have a solid skeleton. Some species have adhesive-secreting structures and cover themselves with grains of sand, bits of shell, or other foreign objects. With their elastic bodies and venomous tentacles, they trap a range of marine creatures including small fish, shrimps and crabs.