What Is the Ocean?

An ocean is a huge body of

saltwater. Almost three quarters of
the Earth is covered in ocean.
The ocean contains almost 98% of
all the water on Earth!
When you look at a photograph of
planet Earth, all the blue you can
see is water.
All the oceans on Earth are joined
together.

Did you Almost 80% of the Earth’s oceans

know? haven’t been explored yet!
 Where Are the Oceans?
There is one ‘world ocean’. This is then split up into five different oceans: the
Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the
Southern Ocean.

Arctic Ocean

North Europe
America Asia
Atlantic Pacific
Ocean Ocean
Africa
Pacific
Ocean South
America Indian
Ocean
Oceania

Southern Ocean

Antarctica
 Ocean Life
More than than 200,000
different species of plants and
animals live in oceans around
the world.
Scientists think there are many
more that haven’t been
discovered yet though!

? What animals can you name that live

in the ocean?
 Octopus
Octopuses are carnivores. They can be
found in all the world’s oceans.
Octopuses are very good at camouflage.
They can change colour in an instant
and can even change the texture of their
skin to match the rocks nearby!
If they feel threatened, they can squirt
dark ink, which confuses the predator
and gives the octopus time to escape.
Octopuses are very clever and can even
solve puzzles and mazes.
The biggest octopus is the giant Pacific
octopus, which can measure more than Each arm on an
9 metres across!
Did you octopus has its own
know? ‘mini brain’!
 Sea Turtle
Sea turtles are reptiles. They can be found in
tropical and subtropical waters all around the
world. There are seven different types
of sea turtles.
Sea turtles have been around for a very
long time. They even existed on Earth at
the same time as the dinosaurs!
Some types of turtles are carnivores, some are
omnivores and some are herbivores.
Sea turtles breathe air. They can rest
underwater for up to five hours without
needing to come up for air though.
A sea turtle has a hard shell The oldest recorded
Did you sea turtle was 188
for protection. This is part
of its skeleton. know? years old!
 Jellyfish
Jellyfish can be found in oceans all
around the world.
Jellyfish have existed for at least 600
million years!
Some jellyfish are clear but they can
be brown, yellow, pink, purple or blue.
Jellyfish don’t have a brain, heart,
bones or eyes.
Many types of jellyfish have tentacles
that sting. They use them to stun their
prey. Their stings can be painful to
humans and even deadly from some
species.
Did you Some jellyfish can
know? glow in the dark!
 Crab
Crabs can be found in almost all sea
environments around the world.
Crabs have 10 legs. The two front legs
have claws on and the rest are used for
walking.
When crabs get too big for their shells,
they break them open and shed them.
A new soft shell is underneath, which
takes a few days to get hard. Their
shells help to protect them from
predators.
Crabs can lay up to 100,000 eggs at a
time! Spider crabs can
Did you measure four metres
know? across!
 Manta Ray
Manta rays are a type of fish. They can be found in
tropical and subtropical waters all around the world.
Manta rays are one of the biggest fish in the world. They
can grow as big as nine metres from fin to fin. They can
also weigh as much as two small cars!
Manta rays are very gentle and curious. They like
to play in and be tickled by bubbles that scuba divers
make!
They are very social and can swim in groups
of hundreds. Manta rays jump out of the water
and make a splash to ‘talk’ to each other.

Did you A manta ray’s mouth can

know? open 2.5 metres wide!

“Manta Ray” by Elias Levy is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 Sea Urchin
Although they don’t look like it, sea urchins are
animals! They can be found in all the oceans
around the world.
Sea urchins don’t have brains or eyes.
They have a beak-like mouth on the underside of
their bodies.
Sea urchins are covered in prickly spines
for protection. They move around on hundreds of
tiny sticky ‘tube’ feet.
Some species of sea urchin are poisonous
to other animals.
Sea urchins are scavengers, which
means they eat whatever they can
find, including algae, seaweed and
Did you Sea urchins are
know? symmetrical!
dead animals.
 Dolphin
Dolphins are mammals that live in tropical and
temperate oceans around the world.
Dolphins breathe air through a hole on top of
their head called a ‘blowhole’.
Dolphins are very clever and very social. They
play and hunt together, as well as look after the
baby dolphins together.
Dolphins squeak, whistle, click, leap out the
water, snap their jaws and butt heads to ‘talk’ to
each other.
Scientists have found that dolphins
give each other names! They develop different
whistles that they use to recognise and call Killer whales are
different dolphins
Did you actually dolphins,
in their pods. know? not whales!
 Pufferfish
Pufferfish can be found in tropical and
subtropical waters. They are sometimes called
‘blowfish’.
Pufferfish can inflate their bodies into a ball
shape to make themselves look bigger to
predators. Some species have sharp spines all
over their bodies for protection.
Most pufferfish have a toxin in their body that
makes them taste terrible and which can be
poisonous to other animals.
To deflate their bodies, they let all
the water out of their stomachs.
This can take more than five hours There’s enough
and is very tiring for them. Did you poison in one
know? pufferfish to kill
30 humans!
 Seahorse
Seahorses are fish. They can be found in the
shallows of tropical and temperate waters.
Their tails are flexible and can grasp objects. They
use this to anchor themselves to plants.
Seahorses will hide and wait for prey to pass by.
They then quickly suck their prey though their
mouth, before swallowing it whole!
Many seahorses can change their colour to
camouflage themselves. They also have spikes all
over their body for protection.
To move up and down, seahorses
change the amount of air in their
‘swim bladders’. This is a pocket Seahorses are the
of air inside their bodies.
Did you slowest swimmers in
know? the world!
 Starfish
Starfish are also called sea stars. This is
because they’re not actually fish! They can be
found in every ocean around the world.
Most starfish have five arms but some can grow
as many as 50! Their arms are covered in tiny
suckers, which they use to move slowly along
the seabed.
They have tough, prickly skin to protect them
from predators.
Starfish have no brain and no blood!

Did you Starfish can regrow their

know? arms if they get damaged!
 Shark
great
Sharks are a type of fish. They can be found white
in most ocean habitats, from tropical coral shark
reefs to the Arctic. There are more than 500
different types
of sharks. hammerhead
Most types of sharks are apex predators. shark
This means that they have no natural
predators. Many sharks have several rows
of teeth. They can lose and replace
thousands of teeth in their lifetimes. saw
shark
Sharks have been around for over 400
million years.
Great white sharks have an excellent sense A great white shark
of smell. They can smell a Did you has 300 teeth in seven
group of seals from more than know? rows!
two miles away!
“Great White Shark” by Elias Levy and “Hammerhead Shark” by NOAA Photo Library are licensed under CC BY 2.0
 Coral
Corals can be found all over the world but mostly
near the equator. This is because they need sunlight
and warm temperatures all year.
Each coral is made up of lots of tiny creatures
called ‘polyps’. Corals come in different shapes,
sizes and colours.
The first coral reefs formed 240 million years ago!
Most coral reefs today are between 5,000 and
10,000 years old.
Lots of sea creatures live in coral reefs, such as
starfish, sea turtles, seahorses and tropical fish. The
reefs give these animals
everything they need to live, The Great Barrier
including food and shelter. Did you Reef can be seen
The world’s largest coral reef is the know? from space!
Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
 Whale
Whales can be found in all the oceans around humpback whale
the world.
Whales are mammals and breathe air through
their blowholes, like dolphins. They never
sleep because they have
to come up to the surface to
breathe regularly. blue whale

There are about 90 different species

of whales.
The blue whale is the biggest animal that has
ever existed. Even though they’re very big,
they eat tiny creatures called ‘krill’. One blue
whale can eat
up to 40 million krill a day! A blue whale can
Did you weigh as much as
Humpback whales and blue whales know? 2600 people!
sing to communicate with each other.
“Blue Whale” by Christopher.Micheal and “Humpback Whale” by National Marine Sanctuaries are licensed under CC BY 2.0
 Protecting Ocean Animals
Unfortunately, there are lots of things A scientist counts fish in the
threatening our ocean animals, such as Indian Ocean.
overfishing, plastic pollution and climate
change.
Luckily, there are many people who are
fighting to save them. Special groups and
scientists are working hard to protect
endangered animals from fishing.
People are also trying hard to remove A biologist reattaches
plastic waste from the ocean, and to stop broken coral in the
Atlantic Ocean.
any more from ending up there.
With the help of these people, we can
protect our oceans and the animals that What else do you
call them home for many years to come!
? think people can do
to protect
ocean animals?
“Scientist” by Christopher.Micheal by Foreign and Commonwealth Office is licensed under OGL v1.0