-
01
They have a permanent "Phantom of the Opera AAAA" face
A bizarre and fascinating fact about sea squirts (also known as tunicates) is that they literally eat their own brain.
-
02
No thoughts, just vibes, flowing with the waves
That's the bluespotted cornetfish. It frequently plays "shadow stalker" - hiding entirely behind larger, harmless fish to sneak up on unsuspecting prey before vacuuming them up through its long, tubular snout.
-
03
Couture high fashion
Fun fact about the stingray skeleton: Stingrays have no bones! Their skeletons are made entirely of flexible cartilage - the exact same bendy material that gives structure to your nose and ears.
-
04
Blinded by the light
Neon tetras can actually change the color of their iridescent stripes! By shifting special reflective crystal structures in their skin in response to light, their neon stripe appears blue-green in bright light and deep indigo in the dark.
-
05
The weight of the world is nothing, really
Deep-sea crabs cultivate and "farm" their own food. They use the dense, comb-like hair on their chests and claws to harvest methane-eating bacteria.
-
06
That's a D&D creature
Aside from the energy blast, stingrays are actually closely related to sharks. Both belong to a group of fish called elasmobranchs.
-
07
That's too real
While sharks do experience basic emotions like stress, fear, relief, and even curiosity, because they lack a developed limbic system, they don't feel complex human emotions like love or jealousy.
-
08
You have two ears, no?
Sharks actually have incredible hearing. When they're not busy listening to arguing orcas, they can detect the low-frequency vibrations of struggling prey from over half a mile away.
-
09
The glow of success
Axolotls do not naturally glow. Their glow is the result of a genetic modification in which scientists introduced the Green Fluorescent Protein gene into their DNA, for the purposes of cell tracking and gene regeneration tracking.
-
10
A big, fat blockade
Despite being called "kiIIer whales", orcas are actually the largest members of the dolphin family.
-
11
All according to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Dolphins never go to sleep completely! To avoid drowning while needing to surface for air, they practice unihemispheric sleep - resting only half of their brain at a time and keeping one eye open.
-
12
Abort the amore on this one!
Another reason to abort the amore on the morey eels - they have a literal "Alien"-style secret weapon: a second set of jaws located in their throat called pharyngeal jaws. When they bite down on prey, these throat jaws move forward to grab the meal and drag it straight down their digestive tract.
-
13
It's just a speck
Did you know that only the male Asian sheepshead wrasses have this pimple on their head? All Asian sheepshead wrasses are born female, but when they reach a certain size and age (around 10 years old), the most dominant females transform into males over several months. As they transition, they change color, grow the bulbous hump on their forehead, and even develop new reproductive organs.
-
14
If "Nemo" was another John Wick movie
Unlike the friends above, all clownfish are born male. They live in a strict hierarchy with a single dominant female. If the dominant female dies, the largest male will transition to female and take her place, making the change irreversible.
-
15
It's just their play time
Marine biologists actually believe that orcas sinking boats isn't an intentional, malicious attack, but rather a bizarre "trend" or cultural fad. A pod of mostly teenage orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar has taken a liking to playing with boat rudders, treating them like chew toys until they snap.
-
16
Peek-a-boo
Whales have exceptional social intelligence and eyesight, and skippers will often ask passengers to wave at the boat so the whale will inquisitively come eye-to-eye with the vessel.
-
17
So lucky to have them
Did you know? Orcas have complex cultures and unique local dialects.
-
18
Is "All" a valid answer?
Deep-sea fish look "weird" because they are perfectly adapted to survive in one of the most hostile environments on Earth: the pitch-black, freezing, and high-pressure depths of the ocean. Their bizarre features (like giant jaws and glowing lures) are purely functional tools for finding food and mates.
-
19
When you start an underwater band
While the vast majority of shark species have exactly 5 pairs of gill slits, some species naturally sport 6 or 7 pairs. That's a lot of harmonica places.
-
20
It's called fashion, Karen
In the 1980s, orcas in the Pacific Northwest started a bizarre "fashion trend" where they swam around with salmon bodies balanced on their heads like hats. Scientists believe this was a cultural fad, as other whales quickly copied the behavior.
-
21
Still high fashion, Karen
Decades later, orcas were spotted reviving this exact same fish-hat trend, just like fashion trends make a comeback in society.
-
22
A language barrier
Sperm whales are the loudest animals on Earth. Their rhythmic clicking sounds can reach up to 230 decibels - louder than a jet engine from 300 ft.
-
23
Helpful friend
In Grand Cayman's famous "Stingray City", local Southern stingrays have become so accustomed to divers that they actively seek them out for attention.
-
24
Americans will use literally anything but the metric system
A giant squid's esophagus passes straight through its doughnut-shaped brain. This means it has to chew its food into tiny pieces before swallowing, otherwise, large chunks could literally damage its own brain as they pass through.
-
25
So expressive
Clams don't have brains or eyes, but some species can live for centuries.
-
26
Just add a "sea" to it
Male seahorses are the only animal species on Earth that experience true male pregnancy. The female deposits her eggs into the male's brood pouch, where he fertilizes and carries them for up to 45 days before going through labor and giving birth to the babies.
-
27
We've seen some on kindergarten's drawing classes
Since it literally looks like a 4-year-old drew this fellow, we couldn't identify it and give you a fun fact about it. We're still very much mesmerized by how wonky it looks.
-
28
Stick by your partner, they said
Octopuses have a built-in "anti-stick" chemical system. Because their arms are highly flexible and covered in hundreds of suction cups, scientists found that their skin produces a unique chemical signal that overrides their suction reflexes.
-
29
Let him see the sea once more
Fish gills are so incredibly efficient that they can pull up to 80% of the dissolved oxygen out of the surrounding water, whereas human lungs only extract about 25% of the oxygen from the air we inhale.
-
30
A pooch pact
"Ready your gills and fins, we're going for a swimmingly long war."
-
31
Someone should introduce it to them
A true shrimp fun fact: their heart is located in its head. Because their circulatory system lacks arteries, all of their organs are suspended directly in an open flow.
-
32
Didn't hear about personal space?
This is an Irrawaddy dolphin. They can spit streams of water from their mouths up to 5 feet into the air.
-
33
A memory of a goldfish
The popular myth that a goldfish only has a 3-second memory is completely false. Fish actually have fantastic memories and can retain information for months or even years. And they will remember why they hate everything.
-
34
How dare they?
Frogfishes are masters of disguise that literally "fish" for their meals. Using a modified spine as a built-in fishing rod, they dangle a worm lure right above their mouths. Also, their colors are dashing.
-
35
Puptimism to finish it all
When the land dolphin meets the ocean doggo.
Check out our Instagram for more hilarious animal content!
Love our stuff? Shop for some of our pawsome merch here.