Review of
Sperm
Whales and Other Deep-Sea Life, by Sally Morgan ISBN
9781845389512
Five out of five stars
While it is
most unlikely that there is any surface territory of the Earth that remains
unexplored, the situation is quite different regarding the deepest areas of the
oceans. Very little of that area has been examined and what is known is
fascinating. It is an area of perpetual darkness, tremendous pressures and
limited food supplies. While not all of the animal life that lives in the ocean
depths is known, some of those that have been seen and studied are incredible. Some
of those creatures are displayed in this book.
One of the few
creatures that is capable of traversing both the surface and the great depths
is the sperm whale. Being an air breather, the sperm whale must surface on a
regular basis, yet it can remain submerged for up to two hours. Since it can
dive down to 1000 meters (roughly one-fifth of a mile) in approximately 10
minutes, it can hunt the depths for well over an hour.
The megamouth
shark was first seen in 1976 and it lives only at the depths. It feeds by
swimming slowly with its mouth open, filtering food out of the water. Unlike
the powerful surface sharks, the megamouth lacks the muscles for attacking
prey.
The giant squid
can grow up to forty feet long and weigh a ton, with very strong tentacles
covered in powerful suckers. There have been documented instances of ships
being attacked by giant squid, for they are efficient hunters. Supposedly, a
sailor in World War II was eaten by a giant squid.
To me, the most interesting creature featured in this
book is the Japanese Spider Crab. It has legs that can be up to 2 meters long
(6.5 feet). The Spider Crab is also one of the fiercest looking animals, easily
being the source of legends.
This is a
wonderful book of science that educates and entertains as it is fun to read. It
also makes you wonder what other amazing creatures are yet to be discovered in
the depths of the oceans.
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