The ocean, just a place
A place that contains 97% of the total water on earth
And accounts for nearly 99% of the Earth’s living space
Let’s unwind back to 3.1 to 3.4 billion years ago
Life originated in the oceans
These aquatic life forms ruling terrestrial organisms
By about 400 million years ago
And the tide rises, the tide falls

Now by aquatic life are we talking about animals?
No organisms
Organisms like coral
Coral that is found to be very close to the human bones
Are often used in bone transplants for humans.
And the tide rises, the tide falls

Now what about some fish?
Seahorses those slow swimmers
Constantly need to eat due to the absence of a stomach
They are the only living species
where males give birth to baby seahorses
And the tide rises, the tide falls

Instead of looking up, let’s think lower
There are crabs
also called decapods
That are protected by a thick shell
Made of calcium carbonate
With a pair of claws
For catching their prey
Walking sideways
Like Horseshoe Crabs,
They are valuable to humans,
Providing the cure for toxins
That cause septic shocks
And the tide rises, the tide falls

Yet this crab has not undergone
Any evolutionary change in the
Last 135 million years
Often called “living fossils”
As their ancestors date back to
200 million years,
Even before the time of dinosaurs
And the tide rises, the tide falls

Instead of small let’s think big
The blue whale
The largest known animal on earth
Reaching a size of more than 100 feet
Weighing more than 150 tons
Its heart as big as a small-sized car
One of its blood vessels as large enough
To enable a man to crawl through
And the tide rises, the tide falls

Let’s respect our elders, the sea sponge
That are actually animals
Rather than coral or plants
Are the oldest surviving organisms on earth
That can reach a lifespan of more than 200 years
They let water pass through them
And absorb the oxygen as well as nutrients
The ‘vacuum cleaners’ of the sea
And the tide rises, the tide falls

Now for the superstars, starfish
Don’t be mistaken
They aren’t fish
But echinoderms
There are over 1,800
different species of starfish
Some with 5 arms
While some species like sun star with 40 arms
Superpowers like growing their whole body
from just a single arm
They don’t have any blood in their body
Digesting their food outside their bodies
And the tide rises, the tide falls

What about those scary creatures from Finding Nemo?
Sharks!
Who do not have a single bone in their body
Their skeleton made up by tough cartilage
Successful predators from their great sense of smell
Like whale sharks that can grow up to 40 feet,
They are the biggest extant fish in the world
More than 350 known shark species,
Out of which only 36 are considered
Potentially dangerous to humans
However, the chances of a shark attack
On humans is extremely rare
And the tide rises, the tide falls

Last but not least, sea turtles
Creatures that are reptiles
7 species of them
Have eggs laid on land
And their gender is determined
By the temperature of the nest
Living 70-80 years
They have a shell known as
a “carapace”
Streamlined for swimming through water
Unlike other turtles,
Sea turtles cannot
Retract their legs
Or heads
Into their shells
And the tide rises, the tide falls

These creatures see your face
Distorted by water
But as you breathe out,
You see nothing but bubbles
And everything is gone
And all you see is blue
And the tide rises, the tide falls