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whales |
seals and sea lions |
fish |
crustaceans |
molluscs |
echinoderms |
seaweed |
cnidarians |
porifera(sponges) |
WhalesLargest Fin Whale, Balaenoptera
physalus
90 feet, 97 tons estimated weight
Largest Sei Whale, Balaeonoptera
borealis
72 feet, 45 tons estimated weight
Largest Sperm Whale, Physeter catodon67 feet 10 inches, 72 tons estimated weight
Largest Humpback Whale, Megaptera
novaeangliae
65 feet, 64 tons estimated weight
Largest Gray Whale, Eschrichtius
robustus
51 feet, 39 tons
Fastest Swimming Baleen Whale
(short distance)
Sei Whale, Balaenoptera borealis: 35 miles per hour in short bursts
Fastest Swimming Dolphin
Dall's porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli,
recorded at 56 km/hr
Killer Whale, Orcinus orca , recorded at 56 km/hr
Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis - 37 miles per hour while riding ship's
bow waves, 28 miles per hour in open water
Largest Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris: 18 feet, taken in 1852 off Santa Barbara Island, 15 feet 7 inches taken in 1929 off San Diego
Largest Southern Elephant Seal, Mirounga leonina: 21 feet, 4 inches, taken near South Georgia Island in 1913
Smallest Pinniped: Baikal Seal, Pusa
sibirica
Adults are 4 feet 6 inches and 140 pounds
Fastest Swimming Pinniped:
California Sea Lion, Zalophus californianus
25 miles per hour
Greatest Age for a Pinniped:
Ringed Seal, Phoca hispida: 43 years, collected on Baffin Island and
based on growth layers in the teeth
Grey Seal, Halichoerus grypus, 41-42 years, kept in captivity in Sweden
from 1901-1942
Largest Fish
Whale Shark, Rhinodon typus
59 feet, for a specimen captured in Thailand in 1919 Larger sizes have been
reported, but these are estimates, and may not be accurate. Many reliable
records exist for animals over 30 feet in length.
Largest Basking Shark, Cetorhinus
maximus
45 feet. Weight estimated at 32,000 pounds
Largest Tiger Shark, Galeocerdo
cuvieri
20 feet, 10 inches, 2070 pounds
Largest Hammerhead Shark, Sphyrna
mokarran
18 feet, 4 inches, 1,860 pounds
Largest Thresher Shark, Alopias
vulpinus
18 feet, 1,100 pounds
Largest Six-gill Shark, Hexanchus
griseus
15 feet, 1,300 pounds
Heaviest Fish in the Class
Ostyichtheys (bony fish)
Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola: 10 feet in length, 14 feet between dorsal and
anal fins, 4,928 pounds, struck and killed by a ship off Australia in 1908
Longest Fish in the Class Ostyichtheys
(bony fish)
Russian Sturgeon, Acipenser huso: 24 feet in length, weight 1,470 kg
(3,250 pounds) caught in the Volga river in 1827
Shortest Marine Fish
Schindleria praematurus, found in Samoa in the South Pacific: 12-19
mm in length, weight 2 mg.
Fastest Fish:
Sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus: 68.18 mph
Mako Shark, Isurus oxyrinchus: 60 mph
Marlin, Tetrapturus sp. 50 mph
Wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri 48.5 mph
Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus 43.4 mph
Blue Shark, Prionace glauca 43 mph
Bonefish, Albula vulpes 40 mph
Swordfish, Xiphius gladius 40 mph
Slowest Fish:
Sea Horse 0.01 mph
Largest Sea Star: Evasterias
echinosomo
96 cm (37.79 inches) in diameter, weight 5 kg (11 pounds), collected in the
North Pacific
Smallest Sea Star: Leptychaster
propinquus
1.83 cm (0.72 inches) total diameter
Deepest Sea Star: Eremicaster
tenebrarius
Collected in 7,630 meters (25,032 feet)
Fastest Sea Star: Sun
Star, Pycnopodia helianthoides
75 cm per minute (0.027 miles per hour)
Largest Sea Urchin: Sperosoma
giganteum
Test diameter of 38 cm (13 inches)
Smallest Sea Urchin: Echinocyamus
scaber
Test diameter of 5.5 mm (0.21 inches)
Deepest Sea Urchin: Unidentified
specimen
taken from 7,250 meters (23,786 feet) near Indonesia in 1951
Largest Sea Cucumber: Members of the genus Stichopus have been measured up to 1.3 meters (40 inches) in length and 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter
Smallest Sea Cucumber: Rhabdomolgus
ruber, found in the North Sea
10 mm (0.39 inches) in length
Deepest Sea Cucumber: Unidentified specimen taken from the Philippine trench in 1951 in 10,190 meters (33,431 feet)
Largest Crinoid: Helimoetra
glacialis, found in the Northeast Pacific
90 cm (36 inches) in diameter
Smallest Crinoid: Unidentified species with a diameter of 3 cm (1.18 inches)
Deepest Crinoid: Unidentified specimen taken from the Kermadec Trench in 1951 in 8,210 meters (26,935 feet)
Largest Crustacean: Giant spider
crab Macrocheira kaempferi
Individuals can measure 12-14 inches across the body, with a claw span of 8-9
feet. There is a report of a crab weighing 14 pounds with a claw span of 12
feet.
Smallest Crab
Pea crabs in the family Pinnotheridae are about .25 inches across the shell
Heaviest Crustacean: Atlantic
Lobster Homarus americanus
Several records exist of individuals that weighed over 20 pounds. The record,
however goes to a lobster weighing 42 pounds, 7 ounces, which was caught in 1934
and nicknamed "Mike".
Heaviest Mollusc (and heaviest
invertebrate): The giant squid (Architeuthis sp.)
The largest giant squid ever recorded (Architeuthis princeps) was
captured in 1878. One of the "arms" (probably a tentacle) measured 35
feet long. It is estimated that the animal weighed in theneighbourhood of 4000
pounds.
Largest Clams: Tridacna derasa, found on coral reefs in the South Pacific. One was collected on the Great Barrier Reef in 1917 that measured 49 inches by 29 inches, and weighed 579.5 pounds. The shell of a close relative, Tridacna gigas, was found off Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan in 1956 measuring 45.25 inches in length and weighing 734 pounds.
Largest Gastropod: Syrinx aruanus, the trumpet or baler conch found off the coast of Australia. In 1979, a 40 pound animal was found with a shell that measured 30.4 inches in length and 39.75 inches in girth.
Largest Jellyfish: Cyanea
arctica, found in the North Atlantic
Specimens have been measured up to 7 feet 6 inches across the bell with a
tentacle of 120 feet.
Largest Sponge: Xestospongia muta, the barrel sponge, found in tropical coastal waters. Some individuals in the Caribbean measure 6-8 feet tall, and 6-8 feet across. It should be noted, however, that some species of encrusting sponge can cover a very large area.
Largest Seaweed: Macrocystis pyrifera, a brown algae called the giant kelp. The longest recorded length is 54 metres long! M. pyrifera is the type of kelp that makes up the majority of the giant kelp forests off the California coast.
INDEX 
