The Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica), or Antarctic herring, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean and the only truly pelagic fish in the waters near Antarctica. It is a keystone species in the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.
While widely distributed around the Antarctic, the species appears to have largely disappeared from the western side of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, based on a 2010 research cruise funded by the National Science Foundation under the US Antarctic Program.
Anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 16 genera; they are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Anchovies are usually classified as oily fish.
Plankton
Plankton are microscopic or near-microscopic organisms that drift in aquatic environments,
unable to propel themselves against water currents. They are broadly classified into phytoplankton (plant-like) and zooplankton (animal-like). Plankton play a vital role in marine and freshwater ecosystems,
forming the base of many food webs and contributing significantly to oxygen production.
Lobster
Lobsters are malacostracan decapod crustaceans of the family Nephropidae or its synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, which are usually much larger than the others. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important and are often one of the most profitable commodities in the coastal areas they populate.
Scotoplanes
Members of the Elpidiidae have particularly enlarged tube "feet" that have taken on a leg-like appearance, using water cavities within the skin to inflate and deflate thereby causing the appendages to move. These appendages are different from the normal tube feet of the broader order of Elasipodida due the replacement of ampullae with dermal cavities to account for the larger size of the Elpidiidae tube feet. Scotoplanes move through the top layer of seafloor sediment and disrupt both the surface and the resident infauna as they feed. This type of movement is thought to be an adaptation to life on the soft floor of the deep sea. These creatures, however, can swim when disturbed. Some species of Scotoplanes are benthopelagic and spend plenty of time in the water column. A frontal lobe as well as two anal lobes propel the sea pig through the water. Their tentacles help detect their surroundings while moving.
Australonuphis
Australonuphis, commonly called Australian beach worms, are a genus of polychaetous annelids of the family Onuphidae that inhabit the intertidal zone of coastal beaches and are attracted to the surface by the stimulus of food. They are sought by anglers to be used as bait for fishing. Some species can grow more than two metres in length. They are blind but have a very good sense of smell, and eat decaying meat, fish and seaweeds that have washed to shore.
Jellyfish
Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals, although a few are anchored to the seabed by stalks rather than being motile. They are made of an umbrella-shaped main body made of mesoglea, known as the bell, and a collection of trailing tentacles on the underside.
Via pulsating contractions, the bell can provide propulsion for locomotion through open water. The tentacles are armed with stinging cells and may be used to capture prey or to defend against predators. Jellyfish have a complex life cycle, and the medusa is normally the sexual phase, which produces planula larvae. These then disperse widely and enter a sedentary polyp phase which may include asexual budding before reaching sexual maturity.
Stonefish
Synanceia is a genus of ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Synanceiinae, the stonefish, which is classified within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfish and relatives. Stonefish are the most venomous fish known; stings can be fatal to humans. They are found in the coastal regions of the Indo-Pacific. They are sometimes confused with the freshwater lionfish.
Seals
Pinnipeds have streamlined, spindle-shaped bodies with small or non-existent ear flaps, rounded heads, short muzzles, flexible necks, limbs modified into flippers and small tails. The mammary glands and genitals can withdraw into the body. Seals are unique among carnivorans in that their orbital walls are mostly shaped by the maxilla and are not contained by certain facial bones. Compared to land carnivores, pinnipeds have fewer teeth, which are pointed and cone-shaped. They are adapted for holding onto slippery prey rather than shearing meat like the carnassials of other carnivorans. The walrus has unique tusks which are long upper canines.
Sea Lions
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. The sea lions have six extant and one extinct species (the Japanese sea lion) in five genera. Their range extends from the subarctic to tropical waters of the global ocean in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, with the notable exception of the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Sunfish
The ocean sunfish (Mola mola), also known as the common mola, is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It is the type species of the genus Mola, and one of three extant species in the family Molidae. It was once misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which is actually a different and closely related species of sunfish, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545 and 2,205 lb). It is native to tropical and temperate waters around the world. It resembles a fish head without a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.
Sea Cucumbers
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number being in the Asia–Pacific region. Sea cucumbers serve a useful role in the marine ecosystem as detritivores who help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus and other organic matter, after which microbes can continue the decomposition process.
Sea Anemone
Sea anemones are a group of predatory marine invertebrate animals constituting the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the Anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Hexacorallia. As cnidarians, sea anemones are related to corals, jellyfish, tube-dwelling anemones, and Hydra. Unlike jellyfish, sea anemones do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle.
Queen Angelfish
The queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), also known as the blue angelfish, golden angelfish, or yellow angelfish, is a species of marine angelfish found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is a benthic (ocean floor) warm-water species that lives in coral reefs. It is recognized by its blue and yellow coloration and a distinctive spot or "crown" on its forehead. This crown distinguishes it from the closely related and similar-looking Bermuda blue angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis), with which it overlaps in range and can interbreed.
BlobFish
A blobfish, also known as a flathead sculpin (Psychrolutes phrictus), hovers in the caldera at Axial Seamount, approximately 300 miles off the Oregon coast. There are nine species of blobfish, all members of the Psychrolutes genus which live deep in the sea.
