Meet Our Ocean Animals, Part 2

Hi Quilting Friends,

Last week we spent some time observing several of the animals who are featured in our “Reef Buddies” and “Ocean Adventure” quilt patterns, pictured below. 

 

Today we’re diving beneath the waves in our submarine!  You can observe the animals through your convenient porthole.  Let’s go!  This is going to be SO much fun, so listen to the music as you enjoy the ride!

The Moorish idol fish lives in the coral reefs around the Indian and Pacific oceans, where he feeds on the algae that grow among the corals.  Isn’t he handsome!

The yellow tang is also a coral reef dweller, and he feeds on algae as well.   They also help keep sea turtles clean by eating the algae that grows on their shells.  That’s a very helpful fish! 

The seahorse swims upright to mimic a sea plant, which works to disguise them from predators.  That’s a good thing, since seahorses are pretty bad swimmers.  They have just one tiny fin to use for propulsion.

The squid is another unusual specimen.  Squids have three hearts, and they move through the water tail-first.  When a squid feels threatened, it releases ink to conceal its whereabouts and facilitate an escape.

The peacock mantis shrimp is often called “beautiful and deadly”.  The “beautiful” is obvious, as you can see from his colorful shell.  The “deadly” is because the mantis shrimp punches its prey with a pair of “dactyl clubs” that can deliver up to 160 pounds of force.  Yikes!  Handle this little guy with caution.

The hammerhead shark has a distinctive, hammer-shaped head, with eyes spaced far apart on the sides of its head.  Unfortunately, several species of hammerhead sharks are endangered due to the sharkfin trade and bycatch from commerical fishing.

The clownfish is a well-known character, but you might not know that all clownfish are born male.  When the dominant female in the group dies, the largest male in the group turns himself (irreversibly) into a female.  Now that’s weird!

I hope that you’ve enjoyed our dive into the depths today!  I think that it’s fun to learn more about the other animals with whom we share our planet.  Do you have a favorite sea creature?  I’d love to read your comments!

Happy quilting,

Sharon

 

If you’d like to make any (or all) of the marine animals that were featured in today’s post, the patterns are available in Ms P’s Pattern Shop!