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The seas around Australia are some of the richest on Earth. Around 40,000 species are recorded as living there, with the actual total thought possibly to be as high as 250,000 – and this does not even include the nearby Great Barrier Reef.
Almost half this diversity is accounted for by molluscs (25 per cent) and crustaceans (19 per cent), rather than more conspicuous creatures such as whales and turtles. This pattern is repeated throughout the world.
lives deep in the dark, cold depths of Australia's oceans. Food is hard to come by so it has to keep hold of it when it finds it – which is why it has teeth on its tongue.
Journal reference: PLoS ONE, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0011831
(Image: Julian Finn, Museum Victoria)