The giant African millipede can grow to a length of 30cm or more and is one of the longest (if not the longest), millipedes on Earth. Its exoskeleton is generally black, but often with mahogany or reddish tinges in the colouration. It has approximately 250 legs, which changes with each moulting. Babies are born with 3 pairs of legs and take several years to grow to full size. They have two main modes of defence when feeling threatened: curling into a tight spiral, so only the hard exoskeleton is exposed, and secreting a liquid from pores on their bodies which acts as a mild irritant. Millipedes are excellent climbers and always on the move for foraging and eating. Their legs move in a Mexican wave and this helps them burrow under leaves and organic matter.
 
 

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Fun Facts... This millipede lives in a symbiotic relationship with mites which are found in amongst its legs. In this relationship, both species benifit - the mite will eat dead skin cells from around the millipede's legs meaning that the millipede is free to move and the mite gets a free meal!

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Location... Inhabits Eastern Africa

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Habitat... Tropical and arid coastal forests.

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Diet...
Herbivore

The mono is also known by a wide variety of other names such as silver mono, silver moony, and diamondfish.

The adults are a bright silver colour with a yellow fin tip. Juveniles are more colourful, with yellow over most of the dorsal fin and two black bands over the head. 

This fish can grow to a maximum length of 27cm, but is more commonly around 12cm in length. 

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Fun Facts...

As a juvenile this fish tends to live in mild brackish water, however it will tend to move downstream as it grows as adults prefer higher levels of salinity. 

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Location...

Found in the Indo-west Pacific from the Red Sea and east Africa to Samoa, with its distribution reaching as far north as the Japanese Yaeyama Islands and as far south as New Caledonia and Australia. 

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Habitat...

Usually found in bays, mangrove estuaries, tidal creeks and the lower reaches of freshwater streams. It is a tropical species of fish and prefers a temperature range of 24-28ºC.

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Diet...
Feeds on plankton and detritus.

The honeycomb moray, also know as the leopard moray or laced moray, can be identified by its pale body with black blotches and interspaces, forming a honeycomb pattern. These blotches can vary between individuals, size and also habitat - those in clear coral reefs have less black than those found in turbid waters.

They can grow to around 3 metres long. 

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Fun Facts...

Moray eels are non-venomous but the marine algae that their prey eat, produces a toxic substance called ciguatoxin. If the eel eats a herbivorous animal that has been grazing on this algae, the toxins are transferred and stored in the eels tissues, making them a deadly prey for any large predators! 

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Location...

Found in the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea, covering areas from East Africa to Papua New Guinea and Japan to Australia.

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Habitat...

Tropical Coral Reefs.

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Diet...
Feeds on small fish and cephlapods.

The zebra moray eel is a placid and shy animal which can reach a length of about 150cm. It has a dark brown to blackish body with thin white stripes running vertically down the body.

Unlike most eels, this species does not eat fish and instead of sharp pointy teeth it has close-set pebble-like teeth used for crushing hard-shelled prey.

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Fun Facts...

This eel may look aggressive with its body tucked into crevices, only its head on show and its mouth constantly opening and closing. But this is not a threat, it is just how they breathe!

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Location...

Found in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef. Also found in the eastern central Pacific from Mexico to northern Colombia and the Galapagos Islands.

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Habitat...

Inhabits sandy and rocky bottoms in crevices and ledges of seaward reefs.

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Diet...
Feeds primarily on crustaceans, molluscs and sea urchins.

This species of mudskipper is thought to be the smallest in the genus. 

Their eyes are positioned on top of their heads giving them 360° vision and a froglike expression. Often you will see them roll their eyes back into their sockets or brush them with a pectoral fin to keep them moist. 
 

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Fun Facts...

Mudskippers are amphibious fish - they not only move well in water, but also on land. They generally move around in a series of skips but can also flip their muscular bodies and catapult themsleves over 50cm into the air!

They are territorial and to warn off others they may start "flagging" - lifting and dropping their attractively coloured dorsal fins.

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Location...

Around the coastlines of India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, the Phillipines and parts of northern Indonesia.

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Habitat...

Mainly found in estuarine swamps where it lives on the mudflats at the water's edge.

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Diet...
Small crabs, insects and other invertebrates

The thick lipped mullet has a cylindrical and elongated body with a broad, flat head and a forked tail. The top of their body is dark grey with a greenish tinge, and its underside is silver, with long dark smudges down the side. 

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Fun Facts...

This mullet species earns its name due to its extraordinarily thick, swollen-looking upper lip!

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Location...

Coasts of Mediterranean, Black Sea and Eastern Atlantic.

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Habitat...

Pelagic near shores, sometimes in lagoons and estuaries. 

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Diet...
Adults will eat algae, aquatic plant detritus and small invertebrates. Juveniles feed upon zooplankton.

The common mussel uses proteins to make strong, silky fibers called byssus threads and mussels can use these to form dense colonies. 

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Fun Facts...

The common mussel is one of the most studied marine animals. 

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Location...

This species is extremely common around British coasts. It can also be found in the White Sea in Northern Russia to Southern France, in the west Atlantic from Canada to North Carolina, and also off Chile, the Falkland Isles, Argentina and the Kerguelen Isles. 

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Habitat...

The common mussel is often found attached to substrates, such as piers, rocks and stones, using strong byssus threads. It may also be found in soft sediments in estuaries. 

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Diet...
Filter-feeder: it filters plankton from the water.

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