Scientific name : Anthozoa Family : Alcyonacea Native to : Oceans worldwide Interesting fact : The Great Barrier reef in Australia is the largest coral reef that is 2600 km long. Conservation status : Threatened Corals are invertebrate animals that look like plants. Over 70,000 species of corals are known. They grow in clear, shallow […]

Common name : Plankton Scientific name : Copepoda Native to : Oceans and freshwater worldwide Interesting fact : The cysts produced by females can remain dormant for years and hatch when returned to water. Copepods are the most abundant creatures living in water with over 13,000 known species. These small crustaceans are 1-2 mm long

Scientific name : Strombus gigas Family : Strombidae Native to : Indian and Pacific Oceans Interesting fact : The meat of a conch is edible and its shells are used as souvenirs and musical instruments. A conch is a group of sea snails of about 50 species. They inhabit sandy bottoms among the bed of

Common name : West Indian Ocean coelacanth, African coelacanth, Gombessa Scientific name : Latimeria chalumnae Family : Latimeriidae Native to : Atlantic and Indian Ocean Interesting fact : Coelacanths have electricity detecting organs in their snouts. Conservation status : Critically Endangered Coelacanth means ‘hollow spine’ in Greek, referring to its hollow fin spines. It is

Common name : Atlantic cod, Codling, Haberdine, Kil’din cod Scientific name : Gadus morhua Family : Gadidae Native to : Atlantic Ocean Interesting fact : Cod liver oil is extractedfrom cods for its vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids. Conservation status : Vulnerable Two popular species of cods are the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and the

Common name : Orange clown fish Scientific name : Amphiprion percula Family : Pomacentridae Native to : Indo-Pacific Ocean Interesting fact : Clown fish are all bornas males and switch sex only when required. Conservation status : Endangered The clown fish, popularized by the movie (FindingNemo), is found in tropical coral reefs. It grows 10-18

Common name : Bigspotted triggerfish Scientific name : Balistoides conspicillum Family : Balistidae Native to : Indo-Pacific Ocean Interesting fact : A trigger-like spine in front of the dorsal fin helps the fish wedge itself into crevices. Conservation status : Not Evaluated The clown triggerfish is a small black fish with round white spots on

Common name : Warty frogfish Scientific name : Antennarius maculatus Family : Antennariidae Native to : Indo-Pacific Ocean Conservation status : Not Evaluated The clown frogfish easily blends into its rocky, coralenvironment with its colourful patterns and the ability tocamouflage. Growing up to 15 cm long, it has a globulous, extensible body with the skin

Common name : Bluestreak cleanerwrasse, Striped cleaner wrasse Scientific name : Labroides dimidiatus Family : Labridae Native to : Indo-Pacific Ocean Interesting fact : Cleaner wrasses arehermaphrodites and can change sex when required. Conservation status : Least Concern True to its name, the cleaner wrasse cleans unwanted parasites and dead tissues on other reef fish.

Common name : Jewel stone Scientific name : Spirobranchus giganteus Family : Serpulidae Native to : Tropical oceans worldwide Interesting fact : The plumes are quickly retracted even when slightly disturbed. Conservation status : Least Concern Christmas tree worms live embedded on corals, and comein many colours. They are tube-dwelling worms with two cone-shapedspiralling plumes