Jellyfish

Jellyfish are animals with no backbone. There

are many types and they usually have an

umbrella or bell shape. The box jellyfish is

the most dangerous kind and it lives in

Australia.

Jellyfish live in oceans all around the world.

Sometimes they live in the deep part of the

ocean, but often they are found in shallow

water near the coast. A group of jellyfish is called a bloom. There can

be millions of jellyfish in a bloom.

Some jellyfish are very large (even bigger than a human) but some are

so small you can hardly see them. They move by opening and closing

their body quickly. This moves water away from them and shoots

them off in another direction.

Jellyfish use their tentacles to sting their prey. Sometimes the sting is

harmless to a human, but sometimes it is very painful and can kill.

Jellyfish eat plankton, tiny fish and prawns. Jellyfish are an important

part of ocean life. They are food for turtles and large fish and

sometimes they provide a place for small fish to shelter.

Jellyfish

What do jellyfish look like?

Where do jellyfish live?

What is the name for a group of jellyfish?

What do jellyfish use their tentacles for?

Describe how jellyfish

move.

Why are jellyfish

important to the ocean

community?

What is your favourite

thing about jellyfish?

Draw a picture of a

jellyfish.

Starfish

Most starfish have five arms, but

some species have many more.

One type of starfish has 40 arms!

If a starfish loses an arm it can

grow a new one. If it is being

attacked it might leave its arm

behind to get away.

There are more than 2000 types

of starfish and they live in oceans

all over the world. They can be found in both shallow and deep

water. Starfish cant swim but they move along the ocean floor with

tiny little tube feet underneath their body.

Starfish come in many different colours. They usually have a kind of

shell to protect them from predators like birds or fish. Some starfish

have little spikes on their skin, but others feel a bit like leather. They

have tiny eyes at the end of each arm, although these eyes dont see

very well.

Starfish can change their gender! They can change from male to

female or back again whenever they want. Amazingly, starfish dont

have a brain and they also dont have blood!

Starfish

Describe what a starfish looks like.

Where do starfish live?

Why do you think starfish might have spikes on their

skin?

What happens if a starfish loses an arm?

Describe how starfish

move.

Write down two

interesting facts about

starfish.

What is your favourite

thing about starfish?

Draw a picture of a starfish.

Seahorses

Seahorses live in oceans all around the

world, usually in shallow areas near the

shore. They are very good at hiding

amongst underwater plants and often

wrap their tail around the plants to hold

themselves in place. Some seahorses can

change colour to blend in with their

surroundings!

Some people think a seahorse is strange to

look at. It has a head like a horse, a tail

like a monkey and male seahorses have a

pouch like a kangaroo! Some seahorses are very tiny. Others are

about as big as your school ruler.

Seahorses like to eat plankton, little fish and tiny prawns. They dont

have teeth, but suck their food up through their snout. A seahorse

stands upright and uses its back fin to move itself around.

Seahorses have their babies in a different way to most animals because

its the male who is pregnant! He carries the seahorse eggs around in

a pouch until theyre ready to be born.

Seahorses

Describe what a seahorse looks like.

How do seahorses eat?

Where do seahorses live?

How does a seahorse move

around in the ocean?

Describe how seahorses hide

from predators.

Write an interesting fact

about seahorse babies.

What is your favourite thing

about seahorses?

Draw a picture of a

seahorse.

Whales

Whales are huge

animals. One

species called the

Blue Whale is not

only the largest

type of whale, it is

also the largest

animal anywhere in the world. It is also bigger than any animal that

has ever lived, including dinosaurs! Blue Whales can weigh more than

150,000 kilograms and be more than 30 metres long.

Unlike many kinds of sea creatures, whales breathe air. They come up

to the surface of the water to breathe in and out using the blowhole

on their head or back. They can stay underwater for up to an hour

and a half.

Some whales eat plankton and krill, but others eat fish and small

animals. Whales are often known for their singing. Their song is the

noise they make to call out to other whales and communicate with

them.

Each year whales migrate from cooler waters to warmer waters. They

travel in a group called a pod. A baby whale is called a calf.

Whales

How big is a Blue Whale?

Describe how whales breathe.

What do whales eat?

Why do whales sing?

What happens when whales migrate?

What is the name for a group of whales?

What is your

favourite

thing about

whales?

Draw a

picture of a

whale.

Pufferfish

Pufferfish are known for

their ability to increase their

size very quickly. When

they feel threatened, they

puff their body up into a

ball shape. This scares away

predators.

The pufferfish has a stomach

that is very stretchy. They gulp in water to puff up to twice their

normal size. This helps them stay safe because they are a slow

swimmer.

There are more than one hundred different types of puffer fish living

in different parts of the world, including the Pacific, Atlantic and

Indian Oceans. Most pufferfish are very poisonous. Even if a

predator eats them before they puff up, the poison will probably kill

it.

Pufferfish have really good eyesight. They also have big teeth. They

like to eat algae, crabs, sponges, sea urchins and coral. Unlike other

fish, pufferfish dont have scales. Their skin is rough and sometimes

spikey.

Pufferfish

What does a pufferfish look like?

Why does a pufferfish puff up into a ball?

Describe how pufferfish increase their size.

Why are pufferfish dangerous to eat?

Where do pufferfish live?

What do pufferfish

eat?

Write an interesting

fact about pufferfish.

What is your

favourite thing about

pufferfish?

Draw a picture of a pufferfish.

Sea Turtles

There are seven kinds of sea

turtles and six of them live

in the ocean surrounding

Australia. All species of sea

turtle are endangered.

Sea turtles are large

creatures and can grow as

big as two metres long.

Some of them weigh more than 900 kilograms! Sea turtles often live

for up to 80 years.

Sea turtles like to eat sea grasses and jellyfish. Although they spend

their days swimming underwater, sea turtles need to come up to the

surface to breathe air. They only need to take one big breath and

they can stay underwater for hours.

Sea turtles return to the beach to lay their eggs. The female turtle digs

a hole in the sand and lays more than one hundred eggs. When they

hatch, the baby turtles dig their way out of the sand and move quickly

to the ocean. Not all of them make it to the water though, because

predators like birds and crabs try to eat them.

Sea Turtles

How big do sea turtles get?

How do sea turtles breathe?

What does endangered mean?

What do sea turtles eat?

Describe what happens when a sea turtle lays eggs.

Write an

interesting fact

about sea turtles.

What is your

favourite thing

about sea turtles?

Draw a picture of

a sea turtle.

Crabs

Crabs have ten legs,

including their two claws, or

pincers. They use their

pincers to catch their food,

protect themselves and

communicate. They wave

or drum their pincers to talk

to each other!

Crabs come in many different sizes. Some are smaller than one

centimetre, but some can grow to about four metres wide! They have

a thick shell to protect them from predators and eyes that are on

stalks, just like a snail. Their flat body allows them to hide in small

spaces. They are well protected, but if a crab loses a leg in a fight, it

can usually grow another one.

There are more than 6000 types of crabs and they live in oceans all

over the world. They like to be in a sandy area. Most crabs walk

sideways and some can even swim.

Crabs look for their food on the ocean floor. They usually eat algae,

worms and molluscs, but they are not fussy eaters and will sometimes

eat other dead animals or plants.

Crabs

What do crabs look like?

What do crabs use their pincers for?

How do crabs move?

What do crabs eat?

What size are crabs?

How are crabs

protected from

predators?

What is your

favourite thing

about crabs?

Draw a picture

of a crab.

Sharks

Sharks dont

have any

bones in their

body. Their

skeleton is

made of

cartilage (the

same material your nose and ears are made of). This makes them

more flexible when theyre moving through the water.

There are more than 400 types of sharks. Some live in the deep ocean

and others live in shallow water closer to shore. Most sharks are

about one metre long, but some sharks, like the whale shark, can get

to 14 metres long! A baby shark is called a pup.

Sharks dont have a single row of teeth like humans do. They have

multiple rows of teeth. When they lose a tooth, new ones keep

growing to replace them. Sharks often lose at least one tooth each

week!

Sharks have a very good sense of smell. They can smell blood in the

water from a long way away. They can also hear very well and are

always listening out for their prey.

Sharks

What is different about a sharks skeleton?

Where do sharks live?

What is the name for a baby shark?

What happens when a shark loses a tooth?

Why do you think sharks have such a good sense of

smell?

Write an interesting fact about sharks.

What is

your

favourite

thing about

sharks?

Draw a picture of a shark.

Squid

Most squid are about

50cm long, but the

giant squid can be as

big as 13 metres! It

weighs more than

400kg and its eyes are

as big as basketballs!

They have the largest

eye of any animal on earth.

There are more than 300 different kinds of squid and they can be

found in oceans all over the world. Squid are unique because they

swim backwards. Their tail goes first, instead of their head.

Squid usually have eight arms and two tentacles. They also have a

type of beak which they use to eat their prey. Squid eat fish, smaller

squid or other small animals. Some types of squid can glow in the

dark.

When they feel threatened, squid often squirt dark ink into the water.

This distracts their attacker while they escape and hide. They can also

change colour to blend in with their surroundings, making it hard for

predators to see them.

Squid

Describe what squid look like.

How big is a giant squid?

What is different about the way squid move?

What do squid eat?

How do squid protect themselves?

Write an

interesting fact

about squid.

What is your

favourite thing

about squid?

Draw a picture

of a squid.

Octopuses

There are many

different types of

octopuses. They range

in size from as small as

five centimetres to as big

as 10 metres.

All octopuses have eight

legs. They use two of

their legs to walk along the ocean floor, or to push off when they are

swimming away. Each of their legs has suckers to help them feel and

taste things. Octopuses dont have any bones, but they do have three

hearts!

Octopuses usually live on the ocean floor and make a home amongst

rocks or create a burrow. When they feel in danger, octopuses may

squirt ink. The ink confuses their attacker and allows them to hide or

make a speedy escape. They can also change colour to blend in with

their surroundings.

Octopuses like to feed on molluscs, crabs, worms and crayfish. Some

species of octopus, like the Blue-Ringed Octopus, are poisonous to

humans.

Octopuses

Where do octopuses live?

How big does an octopus get?

What does an octopus use the suckers on its legs for?

Describe how an octopus moves.

What does an octopus eat?

How do octopuses protect themselves from attackers?

What is your

favourite thing

about

octopuses?

Draw a picture

of an octopus.