Every once in a while, we come across a thread on the internet that reminds us just how incredible nature really is. From the time when we saw a thread about what pregnancies look like in the animal world to the time that we learned the truth about fossils in the Appalachian mountains. There is always so much to be amazed by.
Today, we came across another one of those threads, made by DigitalZoo on imgur - a thread about the world's largest ocean animals. You can be sure that you will be amazed by nature all over again when you see these. And you will definitely be reminded of why you should not jump off boats, because these huge sea animals are nothing like the world's tiniest and cutest animals, that's for sure.
"Growing up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter and weighing up to 200 kg (440 lb), Nomura's Jellyfish reside primarily in the waters between China and Japan, primarily centralized in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. It is a very large Rhizostome Jellyfish, in the same size class as the Lion's Mane Jellyfish. It is edible but not considered high quality."
"The Ocean Sunfish or Common Mola is one of the two heaviest known bony fishes in the world. Adults typically weigh between 247-1,000 kg (545–2,205 lb). Specimens up to 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) in height have been recorded."
"Giant Spider Crab from Japan, 1904. They can measure upto 3.7 m (12.1 ft) from claw to claw tip."
"The Giant Oceanic Manta Ray can grow to a disc size of up to 7 m (23 ft) across with a weight of about 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) but average size commonly observed is 4.5 m (15 ft)."
"The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile. The leatherback's flippers are the largest in proportion to its body among extant sea turtles. Leatherback's front flippers can grow up to 2.7 m (8.9 ft). Turtles themselves can measure upto 2.19 m (7.2 ft)."
"The Blue Whale is a marine mammal reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 m (98.1 ft) and weighing up to 199000 Kg (199 tonnes)."
"The Giant Oarfish is a species of Oarfish of the family Regalecidae. Other common names include Pacific Oarfish, King of Herrings, Ribbonfish, and Streamer Fish. This species is the world's longest bony fish, reaching a record length of 8 m (26 ft), however, unconfirmed specimens of up to 11 m (36 ft) have been reported. The maximum recorded weight of a giant oarfish is 270 kg (600 lb)."
"The Lion's Mane Jellyfish is one of the largest known species of Jellyfish. The largest recorded specimen was measured off the coast of Massachusetts in 1870 and had a bell with a diameter of 2.1 m (7 ft) and tentacles around 36.6 m (120 ft) long."
"A Giant Squid attacking a bait squid is pulled up by his research team off the Ogasawara Islands, south of Tokyo, on December 4, 2006. They can measure upto 12 m (39.4 ft)."
"The Walrus is a large flippered marine mammal. Most weigh between 800-1,700 kg (1,800-3,700 lb), while some can weigh as much as 2,000 kg (4,400 lb). Length typically ranges from 2.2 to 3.6 m (7 ft 3 in to 11 ft 10 in). Newborn walruses are already quite large, averaging 33-85 kg (73-187 lb) in weight and 1-1.4 m (3 ft 3 in - 4 ft 7 in) in length."
"The Sperm Whale or Cachalot is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. Mature males average 16 m (52 ft) in length but some may reach 20.7 m (68 ft) and can weigh up to 80000 Kg (80 tonnes)."
"The Giant Barrel Sponge is the largest species of sponge found growing on Caribbean coral reefs. It is common at depths greater than 10 m (33 ft) down to 120 m (390 ft), reaching sizes of at least 1.8 m (6 ft) across, this is one of the largest sponge species wherever it lives and a large specimen might weigh 80 kg (180 lb)."
"Riftia pachyptila, commonly known as the Giant Tube Worm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida. They live on the floor of the Pacific Ocean near hydrothermal vents, and can tolerate extremely high hydrogen sulfide levels. These worms can reach a length of 3 m (9 ft 10 in), and their tubular bodies have a diameter of 4 cm (1.6 in). Ambient temperature in their natural environment ranges from 2 to 30°C."
"The Whale Shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft). They can weigh upto 15,000 Kg (15 tonnes)."
"The Basking Shark is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the Whale Shark and Megamouth shark. Adults typically reach 7.9 m (26 ft) in length and weighs up to 4,650 Kg (4.65 tonnes)."
"The Megamouth Shark is a species of deepwater shark. It is rarely seen by humans and is the smallest of the three extant filter-feeding sharks alongside the Whale Shark and Basking Shark. Since its discovery in 1976, fewer than 100 specimens have been observed or caught. These sharks are able to grow to 5.49 m (18.0 ft) in length and could weigh up to 1,215 kg (1.22 tonnes)."
"The Greenland Shark has the longest known lifespan of all vertebrate species (estimated to be 250-500 years). It usually grows 6.4 m (21 ft) long and weighs 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), and possibly up to 7.3 m (24 ft) and more than 1,400 kg (3,100 lb)."
"The Great White Shark, also known as the White Pointer. It is notable for its size, with larger female individuals growing to 6.1 m (20 ft) in length and 1,905–2,268 kg (4,200–5,000 lb) in weight at maturity."
"The Giant Pacific Octopus' average size is 4.9 m (16 ft) in length from the top of its body (mantle) to the tip of its arms. The largest species of octopus has the record size at 181 kg (600 lb) and a 7.6 m (30 ft) arm span."
"This Might Be the Longest Creature Ever Seen in the Ocean. Scientists spotted a swirling Siphonophore off Western Australia that was 150 feet long.
On April 6, 2020, some 2,000 feet beneath the research boat she was aboard, Dr. Wilson, a senior research scientist at the Western Australian Museum and her colleagues documented this organism with the help of SuBastian, a remotely piloted deep-sea robot, during a March expedition on the Falkor, a research vessel operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute."
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