Different populations of killer whales make different vocalizations, and different pods within these populations may even have their own dialect. Some researchers can distinguish individual pods, and even matrilines (the line of relationship that can be traced from one mother to her offspring), just by their calls. Meanwhile, pods speak completely different languages. Clans coming together for a chat would be like an English speaker, Russian speaker and Chinese speaker trying to have a conversation.
When you have a really powerful whirlpool, it's called a "maelstrom." Saltstraumen is the strongest maelstrom in the world. It is located off the coast of Norway near the Arctic Circle. The Saltstraumen forms four times a day as the tides carry large amounts of water through a small channel only 490 feet (150 meters) wide. The currents reach speeds of 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour). When ships must pass through the area, they do so during the short windows of time in which the maelstrom is not active. Thousands of tourists visit the city of Bodø to view the maelstrom at high tide, when it is the strongest.
According to the Guinness website, on March 27, 2021, Šobat broke the record for the longest time breath held voluntarily (male) with a staggering time of 24 minutes 37.36 seconds, surpassing the previous record by 34 seconds!
On July 20, 1985 - 36 years ago - Mel Fisher discovered the shipwreck of the Nuestra Senora De Atocha off the Florida Keys. The cargo's value is estimated to be worth around $400 million. The treasure includes 24 tons of silver bullion, ingots, and coins, 125 gold bars and discs and 1,200 pounds silverware. Other items with great historical importance were recovered, like 20 bronze cannons, navigational instruments and Native American artifacts. it wasn't entirely sold as well, some of the artifacts are displayed at Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida.
You won't find them on many restaurant menus, but jellyfish are edible and are eaten as a delicacy in some places, such as in Japan and Korea. In fact, in Japan jellyfish have been transformed into candy. A sweet and salty caramel made out of sugar, starch syrup, and jellyfish powder has been produced by students in an effort to make use of the jellyfish that often plague the waters there.
When sand dollars are alive, they're actually a purple color. Their fuzzy spines are covered in tiny flexible bristles called cilia which they use to move food along the ocean flood to a central mouth. When they die, their skeletons get bleached by the sun, turning them white, and the small spines fade away.
The cuatro ojos, or four-eyed fish of Brazil has an amazing visual system. It doesn't actually have four eyes, but two, each one split in half by a tissue membrane. This fresh water fish uses two eyes to see underwater and two eyes to see above the surface. This means the cuatro ojos utilizes two different optical axes in the same eye simultaneously.
One of the most striking characteristics of the sheepshead fish is its teeth, which are amazingly similar to those we have in our mouths! Sharp and thick teeth begin to appear when a sheepshead fish is just 4.5 mm long, and as soon as the fish becomes about 15 mm long, all incisors appear. At the same time, its rear teeth develop into adult molars. There are two rows of molars on the lower jaw and three rows on the upper jaw. This heavy dentition allows sheepshead fish to crush and grind the shelled creatures that these fish prefer to feed on. (no picture because I don't want to keep looking at the thing)
Many sturgeon leap completely out of the water, usually making a loud splash which can be heard half a mile away on the surface and probably further under water. It is not known why they do this, but suggested functions include group communication to maintain group cohesion, catching airborne prey, courtship display, or to help shed eggs during spawning.
Worms can survive underwater for several weeks as their skin can absorb oxygen from the water. However, they are unable to swim and will eventually drown if they fail to exit the water.