Sea lions (Otariidae):

Sea lions are pinnipeds and can be recognized by their external ear flaps, long fore flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. Sea lions have six extant and one extinct species (the Japanese sea lion) in five genera.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Otariidae

Genus

Eumetopias, Neophoca, Otaria, Phocarctos, Zalophus

Dolphins (Delphinus Delphis):

A dolphin is an aquatic mammal classified in the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins), and the extinct Lipotidae (baiji or Chinese river dolphin). There are 40 extant species named of dolphins.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammals

Subclass

Euthería

Order

Cetacea (cetaceans)

Suborder

Odontoceti (Odontocetes)

Family

Delphinidae

Genre

Tursiops

Species

Truncatus

Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus):

Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine spreading, and are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are aquatic outside the breeding season. There are over 30 species of shearwaters.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Procellariiformes

Family

Procellariidae

Gould's Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera):

Gould's Petrel is a small petrel, white below and dark brown and grey above. The species of petrel is classified within the subgenus Cookilaria. All members of this subgenus have a dark M pattern across the upper wings. Gould's petrel have long narrow wings, a short rounded tail and the head is noticeably dark, with a white forehead and face. Males are slightly larger than females. They are currently listed as vulnerable on the endangered species scale.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Procellariiformes

Family

Procellariidae

Genus

Pterodroma

Species

P. leucoptera

Kelp (Laminariales):

Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds which make up the order, Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Kelp grows in "underwater forests" (kelp forests), in shallow oceans, and is thought to have appeared 5 to 23 million years ago. These organisms require nutrient-rich water with temperatures between 6 and 14 °C (43 and 57 °F).

Clade

SAR

Phylum

Ochrophyta

Class

Phaeophyceae

Order

Laminariales

Seagrass (Zosteraceae):

Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae). All classified in the order, Alismatales (in the clade of monocotyledons). Seagrasses evolved from terrestrial plants which recolonized the ocean 70 to 100 million years ago.

Kingdom

Plantae

Clade

Tracheophytes

Clade

Angiosperms

Clade

Monocots

Order

Alismatales

Coral (Anthozoa):

Corals are marine invertebrates within the class, Anthozoa, of the phylum, Cnidaria. Coral typically forms compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the essential reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Cnidaria

Subphylum

Anthozoa

Sea Urchin (Echinoidea):

Sea urchins are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class, Echinoidea. There are about 950 species of sea urchin living on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone. From the intertidal seashore down to 5,000 meters, Sea urchins are members of the phylum, Echinodermata, which also includes sea stars, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and crinoids. Like other echinoderms, they have five-fold symmetry (called pentamerism) and move by means of hundreds of tiny, transparent, adhesive "tube feet".

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Echinodermata

Subphylum

Echinozoa

Class

Echinoidea

Plankton (Phytoplankton):

Plankton are a diverse collection of organisms found in water that are unable to propel themselves against a current. The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales. Plankton are divided into two groups:

Phytoplankton

(plants)

Zooplankton

(animals)

Krill (Euphausiacea):

Krill are small crustaceans of the order, Euphausiacea. Krill are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word krill, meaning "small fry of fish". Krill are considered an essential trophic connection, nearing the bottom of the food chain. They feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton, but are also the main source of food for many larger animals like humpback whales.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Subphylum

Crustacea

Class

Malacostraca

Superorder

Eucarida

Order

Euphausiacea