Weird But True Ocean

Dive into these fishy facts: Did you know that the prehistoric shark, megalodon, had jaws so big that it could swallow a car? Or that goats, pigs, dogs, cats, and even an alpaca have all learned how to surf? And if that's not weird enough for ya, one

An illustrated look at the weird and wonderful creatures that live in the very deepest parts of the sea. Humans have always wondered, with a mixture of fear and fascination, what lurks beneath the surface in the depths of the ocean. In this book, Erich Hoyt introduces 50 of the oddest creatures you will ever meet in the sea. From the carnivorous comb jelly to the lantern-carrying deep-sea dragonfish, from a vampire squid with giant eyes to dancing jellyfish, Hoyt explores these peculiar conditions and their equally peculiar environment. These creatures have adapted to lack of light and, using sound pulses (echolocation) or light-producing organs and pigment cells (emitting light via bioluminescence), they are able to communicate without giving their location away to predators. These stunning, captivating photographs weren't taken from the portholes of submarines. Photographers David Shale, Solvin Zanki and Jeff Rotman worked with oceanography institutes, museums and the BBC Natural History Unit, taking long cruises across the ocean to record and try to understand these little-studied residents of the deep sea. To capture the creatures for observation, a net was lowered far beneath the surface. As soon as the trawl was hauled aboard, the photographers would race to transfer the most unusual animals to fresh seawater aquariums in a chilled laboratory on board. These pages let readers gaze into strange, wild eyes and study faces with toothless or crooked smiles that witness the fruits of deep-sea evolution. Informative captions explain what the patterns of lights on their bodies are "saying" to others in their absolutely dark world. The wonder and extraordinary weirdness of what lives in the deep seas, so far away from us and yet so close, will become more familiar with this book.

Rhyming text and illustrations present a variety of animals that are camouflaged in the ocean.

This introductory book on oceans shows children where the five oceans are on a simple map and on photos of planet Earth. Children are asked to find the icy oceans at the top and bottom of Earth and the warm oceans around the middle of Earth, where coral reefs are found. Amazing photos of a huge moray eel, sea turtle, shark, octopus, and whales will delight young readers, as will photos of children playing in ocean waves.

"The most complete ocean reference ever, more than 350 amazing color photos throughout the book."

A wonderful and entertaining miscellany of facts, figures and anecdotes about the myriad creatures that inhabit the oceans.

Presents facts, brief stories, photos, and illustrations showing that fact can be as weird as fiction.