- Cormorants ability to swim underwater is aided by having a reduced preening gland, which most birds use to condition and repel water from their feathers.
- Southern right whales testes weigh 500kg each. They compete with other males by volume of sperm.
- Cape fur seals exhale, collapsing their lungs, to dive deep underwater. High levels of haemoglobin in their blood and myoglobin in the muscles bind large amounts of oxygen molecules to be used up in the dive.
- Gannets have air bags in their heads and chests to reduce impact on vital organs when hitting the water at 100km per hour
- River pebbles are rounded whereas sea pebbles are flattened due to the folding action of the waves.
- Octopus have 3 hearts, one for each lung and the other for the circulatory system. They also have neurological thanatosis, meaning they can send signals to limbs but can’t receive information back.
- Cartilaginous fish (sharks and rays) have placoid tooth-like scales – each has a central core overlaid with dentine and coated with enamel, giving them a rough sand paper texture reducing water turbulence.
- Dolphins eyesight is excellent above and below the water. They leap into the air looking for signs of fish, such as the presence of diving birds.
- Sea Squirts (red bait) are highly advanced animals that are closely related to vertebrates (animals with a backbone). This is most evident in their larval stage resembling a small tadpole.
- Barnacles, by size, have the longest penis in the whole animal kingdom – 30 times the animal’s length, (that is over 45 meters if the barnacle was the same size as a human).