Who leads this list is the blue whale, over 30 meters long, but closely followed (believe me!) by a gigantic jellyfish! These two big guys are among the largest animals ever to inhabit Earth’s oceans. To give you an idea, one of the most terrible marine reptiles from the time of the dinosaurs, the liopleurodon, measured “only” 25 meters. Today, the various species of whales would almost completely dominate a list of the top ten species in the oceans. However, in the list below, we present only the largest species of each marine animal group – whales, fish, molluscs, reptiles, among others. Thus, it is possible to have a more general idea of all types of great beasts that inhabit the planet’s seas.
Check out the three largest species
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
30 meters
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
22 meters
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
22 meters
Giant squid, monstrous jellyfish and even a crocodile are among the biggest
1. BLUE WHALE – 30 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Balaenoptera musculus
WHERE IT LIVES – In all oceans
With 150 tons and about 30 meters in length, the blue whale was heavily hunted in the first half of the 20th century.
2. LION’S MANE JELLYFISH – 30 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Cyanea arctica
WHERE YOU LIVE – North Atlantic
This jellyfish is “only” 2 meters in diameter, but its tentacles reach 30 meters, the height of a ten-story building! She can even scare by her size, but she’s not the most dangerous jellyfish. The sea wasp species (Chinorex fleckeri), for example, is much more lethal
3. WHALE SHARK – 18 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Rhincodon typus
WHERE IT LIVES – Temperate and warm seas
Within the fish group, the whale shark is number 1, and can be three times bigger than the feared great white shark. Despite its size, it is harmless to humans — it feeds on plankton, small fish and squid.
4. COLOSSAL SQUID – 13 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni
WHERE YOU LIVE – Antarctica
The largest among marine molluscs was only discovered in 1925, when its tentacles were found in the stomach of a sperm whale. It is rare to be seen because it lives in abyssal depths. Another squid, the giant Pacific squid (Architeuthis sp.) can also reach 13 meters
5. ORCA – 8 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Orcinus orca
WHERE IT LIVES – In all oceans
Despite being known as the “killer whale”, the orca is actually a dolphin – the largest of them all. She received this nickname for her large size and for being a voracious predator that hunts penguins, seals, sea lions, fish and even other dolphins.
6. POROUS CROCODILE – 7 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Crocodylus porosus
WHERE YOU LIVE – Indian Ocean
Because it lives in rivers and swamps, the porous crocodile is not an exclusively marine animal, but it is seen very often in shallow waters of the seas – that’s why it is also called marine crocodile. It is the largest reptile found in salt water.
7. ELEPHANT SEAL – 6.5 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Mirounga SP.
WHERE IT LIVES – North Pacific (California region) and Antarctica
The elephant seal is the largest animal among the pinniped aquatic mammals — a group that includes seals and walruses. Males of the species can weigh 3.5 tons and are aggressive. When it’s time for food, they love to hunt fish, squid and octopus.
8. SEA SNAKE – 2.5 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Laticauda semifasciata
WHERE IT LIVES – Seas of Southeast Asia and Australia
There are 61 types of sea snakes in the world, and this species is one of the largest. Its venom is even more powerful than that of land snakes!
9. LEATHER TURTLE – 2.1 meters
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Dermochelys coriacea
WHERE IT LIVES – Tropical seas
Largest of sea turtles, it can weigh over 500 kilos and is believed to have appeared on the planet over 1 million years ago. Capable of diving to a depth of 1,200 meters, it makes long ocean crossings and only returns to the coast to lay its eggs.
10. STARFISH – 1 meter
SCIENTIFIC NAME – Evasterias echinosomo
WHERE YOU LIVE – North Pacific
Measuring 96 centimeters in diameter (bigger than your arm!), an example of this starfish was found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in 1986. There are almost 2,000 species of this invertebrate in the world, but almost all of them are much smaller — they are 20 to 30 centimeters on average