antarctica
Transcript: ANTARCTICA There are many different types of fish in Antarctica which you can find very interesting. The ice fish is interesting because it has antifreeze which keeps it's body from freezing. There is another fish called cod. It is very big and can grow to the average size of 18-39 inches. The cod weighs up to 10-11 pounds. The cod is usually more on the grayer side. and migrates usually to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The cod also has antifreeze in it's body which keeps it from freezing during the Antarctic winters. All fish have a very simple structure with gills, a dorsal fin, pectoral fins, and a tail fin. The color of fish is usually gray, red, black, or silver. Most of the fish there eat krill. Krill is a type of plankton which whales eat also. The fish also eat plants and crabs. Unlike whales and sharks, the fish can go very deep down under water. Fish usually swim in schools for protection. The fish stay in Antarctica in the summer and the spring and migrate in the fall and the winter. These fish migrate to almost all of the oceans, but some fish just go farther away from Antarctica. When they migrate to the other oceans, they lay 5,000 to 5,000,000 eggs. Blue, killer, sperm, humpback...there are so many extraordinary whales in Antarctica. The blue whale is the biggest animal on the earth and could be as big as the biggest dinosaurs. The blue whales have a heart the size of a car. The killer whale is very graceful in the water. A lot of people think the killer whale really is gentle, but it does get aggressive under water. The killer whale is held in captivity the most because it's easy to train. Another whale, the sperm whale, a huge whale that has also been in a famous movie, "Moby Dick".The name sperm came from the oil in the sperm whales head which is made into perfume that's named spermacetti. The sperm whale's head takes up 40% of its body with a narrow small jaw. The last whale is the humpback whale which got its name from little bumps behind its head. The humpback whale is very rare to find in Antarctica's waters, but very easy to find in the Pacific Ocean because of the warmth of the water. In summer sometimes it comes down to Antarctica and stays on the west side most of the time. The whales of Antarctica have a lot of things in common.They all go to Antarctica because of the food source. They are all hunted, usually for perfume and for making bags. They eat krill, fish, squid, and some even eat plankton (krill). They also all migrate to different oceans. No whale stays in Antarctica all year round. Have you ever thought if a penguin is a fish or bird? Why do they call the Little blue the Little blue? You can find out all about it right here. Penguins are remarkable creatures. There are 17 different kinds of penguins in Antarctica. They are the Adele, Black-footed, Chinstrap, Emperor, Erectrested, Fiordland, Gentoo, Galapagos, Humboldt, King, Little blue, Magellanic, Macaroni, Rock Hopper, Royal, Snares Island, and the Yellow eyed penguin. Penguins mostly live in Antarctica, but they also live in many countries such as New Zealand. To have fun, penguins have a game called tobogganing. Even in the water penguins have games such as porposing which is when they come up out of the water then dive back in. The most common penguin in Antarctica is the king penguin. It is also the second largest penguin in Antarctica. It is about four and a half feet tall. Unlike most animals, when a penguin lays an egg the male puts the egg on its feet to keep it off the ice. The female hunts for food, while the male is taking care of the egg. They have to survive the rough winters by huddling in their rookeries. Once the baby penguin has hatched, it's mother has to feed it until it is old enough to feed itself. When an average penguin is an adult, it mostly eats krill (which is a shrimp like creature), fish, and squid. Penguins are eaten mostly by sharks and leopard seals. Early penguin viewers who saw penguins swimming in the ocean wondered if they were a bird or a fish. They found out it was a bird because it has feathers and lives on land. The Little blue got its name because it is small and it has blue eyes. Antarctica is a continent right at the bottom of the earth. It is the fifth biggest continent on the earth and has a total area of 14 million km2. The South Pole lies in Antarctica and it is the coldest place on earth. The lowest temperature of Antarctica that has been measured till date was -128.6ºF in 1983. Even the summer temperatures range -40 to -94º F in the inland and -5º to -22ºF on the coastal areas. Scientists believe that once Antarctica was a part of the southern continents, that is the Gondwanaland and had warm climates. It broke off from the mainlands and drifted towards the south pole. The scientists can say this because of the fossilized plants and animals found in Antarctica. Antarctica soil is covered with over 98% of ice and contains 70% of the freshwater in its icecap. You will