Extreme Life of the Ocean
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The oldest known creature is a deep sea coral like this one living off the coast of Hawaii. It is 4,270 years old. (NOAA Hawaiian Undersea Research Lab)
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The Pompei worm lives with its top end at the temperature of ice water in the deep sea, but its tail, a quarter-centimeter away, sits next to a vent of boiling hot water. (NOAA)
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Humpback whale fins are the biggest and longest of all the whales, but they don’t cause as much drag as once thought because the bumps on the fins actually reduce drag in the water. A new generation of fan blades is using this to increase efficiency as much as 35%. (Steve Zalan)
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The flying fish does not fly – it glides above the water, trying to stay ahead and above its main predators, such as the mahi mahi. When the flying fish drifts down towards the sea surface, it beats its tail, giving itself the propulsion to stay ahead of its predators…for a while. But sooner or later it must return to the sea.
