Not listed Archives - Oceana Canada

Snow crab

Snow crabs are a large, coldwater species of crab that can be found on soft mud bottoms throughout the North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic oceans. Like other crustaceans, their “shell” is actually their skeleton which is found on the outside of their body and is called an exoskeleton. In order to grow, they must shed … Read more

Lophelia Coral

The lophelia coral is a true stony coral that lives in the deep sea in cold, temperate waters rather than on shallow, tropical coral reefs. Unlike shallow-water corals, lophelia corals and other deep-water corals do not get their food from symbiotic algae living inside their cells. Instead, they obtain all of their energy by eating … Read more

Humboldt Squid

Humboldt squid are a large squid that lives throughout the eastern Pacific Ocean. They are part of the flying squid family and are known to eject themselves out of the water to escape from predators. While these squid were once found no further north than California, warming waters along the coast of British Columbia have … Read more

Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic puffins are a colourful and charismatic seabird and are the only puffin that lives in the Atlantic Ocean. These seabirds are an icon of Atlantic Canada and are even the official provincial bird of Newfoundland and Labrador! Puffins are excellent swimmers and, like penguins, use their wings to swim underwater when chasing prey. They superficially … Read more

Capelin

Capelin may be small, but they have a mighty role to play in northern ocean ecosystems. These small fish are a key forage species for countless marine animals. As an important prey source for Atlantic cod, the health of their populations is linked to the health of many cod populations in Atlantic Canada. Capelin are … Read more

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish

Lion’s mane jellyfish are the longest animal in the world! Their body and tentacles can grow up to 36.5 metres in length, rivaling blue whales which can grow up to 33 metres long. Lion’s mane jellyfish get their name from a ‘mane’ of long, thin, hair-like tentacles that hang from the underside of their bell-shaped … Read more

Giant Pacific Octopus

Like other octopuses, the giant Pacific octopus is extremely intelligent and has been observed opening jars and are even known to recognize caregivers in captivity. This makes sense considering they have nine brains! They also have eight arms and three hearts. Two of the three hearts pump blood to the gills, while the third circulates … Read more