Birds
African penguin
Spheniscus demersus
The African penguin is the only penguin that breeds in Africa and is now Critically Endangered. Its looks, braying calls, colonies, diet, breeding and threats.
Habitat · 60 species
Ocean animals
Animals of the open ocean and the deep sea, from whales, dolphins and sharks to jellyfish and squid.
Species profiles
Crustaceans
American lobster
Homarus americanus
The American lobster is a big-clawed crustacean of the northwest Atlantic and the heaviest on record. Its claws, size, diet, molting, colors and long life.
Birds
Arctic tern
Sterna paradisaea
The Arctic tern is a small gray-and-white seabird that flies from the Arctic to Antarctica and back each year. Facts on its size, diet, colonies and lifespan.
Crustaceans
Atlantic blue crab
Callinectes sapidus
The Atlantic blue crab is a swimming crab of Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with blue claws and paddle legs. Its size, diet, molting and life cycle.
Fish
Atlantic bluefin tuna
Thunnus thynnus
The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a giant, warm-bodied ocean fish of up to 679 kg (1,496 lb). Its size, migrations, spawning, diet and recovery from overfishing.
Other Invertebrates
Atlantic horseshoe crab
Limulus polyphemus
The Atlantic horseshoe crab is an ancient arthropod closer to spiders than crabs. Facts on its shell, blue blood, Delaware Bay spawning and Vulnerable status.
Birds
Atlantic puffin
Fratercula arctica
The Atlantic puffin is a small North Atlantic seabird with a bright breeding bill. Facts on its size, burrows, fish diet, chick, lifespan and Vulnerable status.
Fish
Atlantic salmon
Salmo salar
The Atlantic salmon hatches in cold rivers, grows up at sea and leaps home to spawn. Its life cycle, size, diet, ocean journeys, threats and current status.
Fish
Basking shark
Cetorhinus maximus
The basking shark is the second-largest fish, usually 7–8.5 m (23–28 ft) long. Facts on its plankton diet, migrations, summer sightings and Endangered status.
Mammals
Beluga whale
Delphinapterus leucas
The beluga is a white Arctic whale with a bulging melon, a bendy neck and a huge range of calls. Its size, color change, diet, range, lifespan and threats.
Mammals
Blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus
The blue whale is the largest animal known to have lived, up to about 30 m long. Facts on its size, krill diet, deep calls, calves, range and slow recovery.
Birds
Brown pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
The brown pelican is the smallest pelican and the only one that plunge-dives for fish. Facts on its size, pouch, colonies, range and recovery from DDT.
Fish
Bull shark
Carcharhinus leucas
The bull shark is a stocky coastal shark that can swim far up rivers into fresh water. Its size, diet, river nurseries, risk to people and Vulnerable status.
Mammals
California sea lion
Zalophus californianus
The California sea lion is a clever, noisy eared seal of the Pacific coast. Its size, diet, breeding, barking, toxic algae threats and Least Concern status.
Mollusks
Chambered nautilus
Nautilus pompilius
The chambered nautilus is a shelled Indo-Pacific cephalopod with up to 90 suckerless tentacles, pinhole eyes and a gas-filled shell. Its size, life and threats.
Mammals
Common bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
The common bottlenose dolphin is a large, social toothed whale of warm and temperate seas. Facts on its size, whistles, hunting, lifespan, range and threats.
Mollusks
Common cuttlefish
Sepia officinalis
The common cuttlefish is a European cephalopod that changes color, pattern and skin texture in under a second. Size, cuttlebone, hunting, range and lifespan.
Mollusks
Common octopus
Octopus vulgaris
The common octopus is a clever, eight-armed mollusk of the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. Its size, three hearts, camouflage, diet, dens and short life.
Birds
Emperor penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
The emperor penguin is the largest penguin and the only bird that breeds on Antarctic sea ice in winter. Size, diving, huddles, chicks, range and threats.
Fish
European eel
Anguilla anguilla
The European eel grows up in rivers from Iceland to North Africa but is born in the Sargasso Sea. Its life cycle, size, diet, lifespan and why it is endangered.
Fish
Giant oceanic manta ray
Mobula birostris
The giant oceanic manta ray is the world's largest ray, up to about 7 m (23 ft) across. Its size, plankton diet, big brain, slow breeding and Endangered status.
Mollusks
Giant Pacific octopus
Enteroctopus dofleini
The giant Pacific octopus is the world's largest octopus, a clever North Pacific mollusk. Its size, range, dens, diet, brooding mothers and 3 to 5 year life.
Mollusks
Giant squid
Architeuthis dux
The giant squid is a deep-sea squid up to 12–13 m long with tentacles and eyes as big as dinner plates. Its real size, diet, sperm whale foes and first films.
Mammals
Gray whale
Eschrichtius robustus
The gray whale is a mottled North Pacific baleen whale that sucks prey from the seafloor and migrates between Arctic seas and Mexico. Size, diet and threats.
Fish
Great hammerhead
Sphyrna mokarran
The great hammerhead is the biggest hammerhead shark, up to 6 m (20 ft) long. Its T-shaped head, stingray diet, warm-sea range and Critically Endangered status.
Fish
Great white shark
Carcharodon carcharias
The great white shark is the largest predatory fish, reaching about 6 m (20 ft). Its size, warm body, seal hunting, range, long life and Vulnerable status.
Reptiles
Green sea turtle
Chelonia mydas
The green sea turtle is a large, plant-eating sea turtle of warm seas, named for its green body fat. Its size, seagrass diet, migrations, nesting and status.
Fish
Greenland shark
Somniosus microcephalus
The Greenland shark is a slow, cold-water giant of the Arctic and North Atlantic that may live for centuries. Its size, diet, eye parasites, range and threats.
Mammals
Harbor porpoise
Phocoena phocoena
The harbor porpoise is a small, shy toothed whale of cool coastal seas. Its size, clicks, diet, North Sea and Baltic range, short lifespan and bycatch threats.
Mammals
Harbor seal
Phoca vitulina
The harbor seal is a spotted true seal of northern coasts in Europe, North America and Asia. Its size, fish diet, pups, diving, threats and conservation status.
Reptiles
Hawksbill sea turtle
Eretmochelys imbricata
The hawksbill is a Critically Endangered reef turtle with a hawk-like beak and a richly patterned shell. Its size, sponge diet, nesting, range and main threats.
Fish
Humpback anglerfish
Melanocetus johnsonii
The humpback anglerfish is a small deep-sea fish with a glowing lure, a huge toothy mouth and tiny males. Its size, depth, diet, mating and first live filming.
Mammals
Humpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
The humpback whale is a 14–17 m baleen whale famous for its long flippers, breaching, bubble nets and male song. Facts on size, diet, migration and recovery.
Crustaceans
Japanese spider crab
Macrocheira kaempferi
The Japanese spider crab has the longest legs of any arthropod, spanning up to 3.7 m (12 ft). Its size, deep home off Japan, diet, camouflage and life cycle.
Birds
King penguin
Aptenodytes patagonicus
The king penguin is the second-largest penguin, with bright orange ear patches and huge sub-Antarctic colonies. Size, diving, diet, chicks, range and status.
Reptiles
Leatherback sea turtle
Dermochelys coriacea
The leatherback is the largest living turtle, with a leathery shell, a jellyfish diet and dives past 1,000 m. Facts on size, migrations, nesting and threats.
Fish
Lined seahorse
Hippocampus erectus
The lined seahorse is a western Atlantic seahorse found from Nova Scotia to Brazil. Its size, armor, upright swimming, diet, courtship, pregnancy and threats.
Reptiles
Loggerhead sea turtle
Caretta caretta
The loggerhead is a big-headed, Vulnerable sea turtle that crushes crabs and whelks with huge jaws. Its size, diet, ocean migrations, nesting and threats.
Other Invertebrates
Moon jellyfish
Aurelia aurita
The moon jellyfish is a clear, saucer-shaped jelly with four ring-shaped gonads and a very mild sting. Its size, diet, life cycle, blooms and where it lives.
Mammals
North Atlantic right whale
Eubalaena glacialis
The North Atlantic right whale is a rare baleen whale of the western Atlantic with no dorsal fin. Its size, copepod diet, calving, threats and survival odds.
Mammals
Northern elephant seal
Mirounga angustirostris
The northern elephant seal is a giant true seal of the eastern Pacific. Its size, trunk-like nose, harems, record dives, molt and comeback from near extinction.
Fish
Ocean sunfish
Mola mola
The ocean sunfish is a giant, disc-shaped bony fish with no true tail. Its size, deep dives for jellyfish and other prey, record egg count, range and threats.
Other Invertebrates
Ochre sea star
Pisaster ochraceus
The ochre sea star is the purple or orange starfish of North America's Pacific shores. Facts on its size, mussel diet, keystone role, lifespan and disease.
Mammals
Polar bear
Ursus maritimus
The polar bear is the largest land carnivore, a marine mammal that hunts seals from Arctic sea ice. Size, fur and black skin, dens, range, threats and status.
Other Invertebrates
Portuguese man o' war
Physalia physalis
The Portuguese man o' war is a floating colony, not a jellyfish, with a gas-filled sail and stinging tentacles up to 30 m long. Size, diet, range and sting.
Other Invertebrates
Purple sea urchin
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
The purple sea urchin is a spiny grazer of Pacific kelp forests and tide pools. Facts on its size, teeth, rock burrows, lifespan, predators and urchin barrens.
Fish
Shortfin mako
Isurus oxyrinchus
The shortfin mako is a fast, warm-bodied ocean shark found worldwide, usually 2–3.2 m long. Its speed, leaps, diet, slow breeding and Endangered status.
Mammals
Sperm whale
Physeter macrocephalus
The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale, with males about 16 m (52 ft) long. Its huge head, record brain, deep squid dives, clicks and Vulnerable status.
Fish
Tiger shark
Galeocerdo cuvier
The tiger shark is a large striped shark of warm seas, usually 3.3–4.7 m long. Its turtle-cutting teeth, huge diet, long migrations, big litters and real risk.
Birds
Wandering albatross
Diomedea exulans
The wandering albatross has the longest wings of any living bird, about 3 m (10 ft) across. Facts on its soaring flight, slow breeding, long life and threats.
Fish
West Indian Ocean coelacanth
Latimeria chalumnae
The coelacanth is a deep-water lobe-finned fish thought extinct for 66 million years until 1938. Size, caves, live birth, long life and why it is endangered.
Fish
Whale shark
Rhincodon typus
The whale shark is the largest fish, recorded at about 18.8 m (62 ft). Facts on its spots, plankton diet, warm-sea range, gatherings and Endangered status.