Ocean Life A coloring book
By: Amanda Kowalski
In collaboration with
Ocean Life
Green sea turtles tend to live in the more tropical and subtropical parts of the world. Unlike humans, turtles depend on the external environment to keep a preferred body temperature and are often seen laying on the sunny beaches to warm up.
The green sea turtle is named for their green skin beneath the shell.
They have flippers that look like paddles, which makes them powerful and graceful swimmers.
Green Sea Turtle
Juvenile turtles are pelagic, which means they live out in the open ocean. When they get older, they come back to live close to the shores. They can grow up to be 300-400 pounds (130180 kilograms), and can live to be 80 years old. They are listed as an endangered species.
Green sea turtles are able to hold their breath for hours while sleeping.
The green sea turtle reaches sexual maturity late in life, at an age of 20-50 years. Because of this they are a vulnerable species.
White sharks typically like to spend time in cooler waters close to shore.
The white shark is one of very few species of shark that has a body temperature higher than the surrounding waters – because of this, they are able to dive deeper into colder waters.
Although it takes an up-close look to identify, the eyes of the white shark are actually a beautiful blue, not black as many people say.
As juveniles, white sharks’ teeth are thin and long to help them eat small fish. As they get older and start hunting larger prey, their teeth adapt to be able hunt and eat larger animals.
They have 5-7 rows of teeth, with each row having 50 sharp, serrated, triangular teeth. They lose approximately 30,000 teeth throughout their whole life.
Grea t White Shark They are named for their white undersides, and can reach a total length of up to 20 feet (6 meters).
Sadly, due to overfishing, they are listed on the endangered species list, and there is an estimated population of only 3,000 white sharks left worldwide.
Nudibranch Nudibranchs are small sea slugs that come in a variety of beautiful colors.
There are over 3,000 different species of nudibranchs. They live anywhere from very shallow waters, up to depths of 8,200 feet (2,500 meters).
They get their bright colors from the food they eat.
Nudibranchs have poor vision and can only see light and dark, leaving them to rely heavily on their rhinophores.
Some are poisonous, while others only pretend to be. They feed on stinging cells and store them on their back for protection.
The horn-like tentacles on top of their head, called rhinophores, allow them to smell, taste, and move around the ocean.
Blacktip sharks can reach up to be 8 feet (2.5 meters) long and weigh 200 pounds (90 kilograms). They have a grey skin tone on the top part of their body and a white underside.
Blacktip sharks are named after the black tips they have on their dorsal and other fins.
B lacktip Shark They have the ability to jump out of the water and spin in the air.
Their gestation period is 16 months long and they give birth in nursery areas close to shore. Babies stay in these areas for protection and only leave once they have grown large and strong enough.
They like to live in warm tropical waters and usually stay near the coral reefs.
They live to be 12 years old.
Tiger sharks, like all other sharks, can sense electromagnetic impulses, which means they can sense other heartbeats in the water around them. They also have a lateral line on the side of their body that allows them to feel vibrations in the water. They have a more rounded nose compared to many other species of sharks, and have an excellent sense of sight and smell.
Their teeth are curved, sharp, and serrated, allowing them to easily bite down on their food.
Tiger sharks are named for the dark vertical stripes found on their body.
As they age, the stripes on their body start to fade away.
Tiger Shark They can live to be 50 years old and grow to be 16 feet (5 meters) long.
Whale Shark Whale sharks are known for their size and can grow to be larger than school buses. They are found swimming in warm tropical waters and do not mind the presence of humans.
The whale shark is one of only three known shark species that filter feed. Because of their specialized gills, they filter feed while swimming close to the surface of the water with their mouth open, scooping up plankton to eat.
Their bodies are grey and full of white spots, which form in lines going vertically and horizontally. The spots on the whale shark are like a human finger print, with no two sharks having the same patterns.
Moray eels come in all different sizes and weights, and can grow to be 8 feet (2.5 meters) long and weigh 66 pounds (33 kilograms).
Their colors vary from black to brown or yellow, and some even have spots of white or blue.
Moray Eel Unlike many other sea animals, moray eels have two sets of jaws with teeth pointing backwards. This allows them to grab their food with the first set of jaws and chew it with the second set.
In order to breathe and stay alive, the moray eel must open and close its mouth repetitively allowing water and oxygen in. Although they look like sea snakes, they are not reptiles – they are actually fish.
They are nocturnal species, meaning they sleep during the day and hunt at night. They can live to be 30 years old.
Lionfish have up to 18 venomous spikes on their back that they use for self-defense. They are known for their beautifully colored bodies, with red, white, orange, black, and white stripes arranged in zebra-like patterns.
Lionfish
Lionfish are considered to be an invasive species in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
They have featherlike fins to attract prey as well as keep predators away.
They can grow to be 13 inches (33 centimeters) long and weigh up to 2 pounds (1 kilogram).
They can live to be 15 years old.
LemonShark The lemon shark grows up in mangroves, and leave for more open areas once they reach a certain size. Lemon sharks are one of the most studied species of shark, and they are said to have preferences to the other sharks they swim and feed with. Basically, they have preferred friends.
They have electro receptors on their nose that allow them to hunt prey.
They can reach a length of 11 feet (3.4 meters) and weigh 400 pounds (190kg).
Lemon sharks get their name from the slight yellowish grey color of their skin.
They love warm tropical waters and stay in moderately shallow areas.
Lemon sharks give birth to live young.
Manta rays are the largest of all rays and can grow to be 22 feet (7 meters) wide.
They are filter feeders and tend to stay in tropical and subtropical waters.
Manta Ray The spots on the underside of their belly allow them to be easily identified. These spots are like their fingerprint; no two manta rays are the same.
Manta rays have a tendency to jump up and out of the water, but the reasoning is still unknown to scientists.
Despite their intimidating size, they are very friendly and don’t mind the presence of humans.
They have about 300 rows of little skin-covered teeth in their lower jaw.
They use the blowhole on top of their head to breathe and can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes. This means that they typically stay close to the surface of the water.
Their internal temperature is 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 Celsius) and they have a thick layer of fat called blubber just below their skin.
They use a technique known as echolocation to find food. This means that they send out ultrasounds through the water which bounce back to them when food is near.
They hunt and swim in pacts, making it easier for them to catch their prey.
Bottlenose Dolphin Bottlenose dolphins are mammals, just like humans. This means they give birth to a live baby, unlike fish that lay eggs.
They can grow to be 9 feet (2.8 meters) long and weigh 1,400 pounds (635 kilograms).
They hunt in packs during the summer and use a method known as bubble net fishing, which involves a group of humpbacks swimming around their prey forming the fish into a ball.
Humpback whales have a variety of different ways of communicating such as singing, tail slapping, and breaching.
They have two blowholes on the top of their head that are used to breathe through.
They can grow to be 60 feet (18 meters) long and weight up to 44 tons.
Humpback Whale Humpbacks do not have any teeth, instead they have a filter-like structure knows as baleen.
They are typically a dark grey color with white patches on their stomach, fins, and head.
Be sure to listen closely when swimming in the ocean, you may hear the beautiful songs of the male humpback calling to females.
Octopus
The octopus is a very intelligent animal, and has numerous ways of defending itself against a predator; including use of ink, camouflage, and their ability to jet quickly through the water.
Unlike humans, the octopus has three hearts instead of one that pumps blood around its body.
The giant Pacific octopus can reach a size of 14 feet (4.3 meters) and weigh 33 pounds (15 kilograms).
The octopus got its name because of its eight arms.
They have no internal skeleton, allowing them to fit into small cracks to hide from their prey and predators.
They have the ability to regrow an arm if they lose their original.
Illustrator Amanda Kowalski was raised in landlocked Arizona, far from any beautiful ocean views. She moved to Hawaii for college and instantly fell in love with the underwater world seeing the deep blue colors and the fascinating creatures, from big whales to small nudibranchs, is what draws her in every time. It was this constant fascination that made her realize that the ocean and the marine life serve such an important role in keeping the planet alive. Ocean Life is a conservation organization that strives to educate people around the world about the life that lives within our oceans. This book lets anyone who chooses to open up their mind explore their imagination, all while educating them about each animal. It’s a whole new world underwater just waiting to be explored - but until then, all that is needed is a few colored pencils and a bit of an imagination to bring this book to life.