The horn of the unicorn fish may look a little ridiculous, but don’t let him see you laughing.

You see, unicorn fish have weapons that are far more dangerous than their horns. They have two, sharp, blade-like spines at the base of their tail that they use to slice their victims… these blades are as sharp as a scalpel which is why they are known as surgeon fish.

Out at sea, a war rages between blue bottles and their nemesis – Glaucus Atlanticus. These nudibranchs float upsidedown on the surface of the ocean in search of their prey… tasty blue bottles.  Occasionally an onshore wind intervenes and the whole armada ends up on the beach. This one was one of several spotted recently washed up on Bondi Beach.

Glaucus have an amazing ability to steal their victim’s weaponary – the bluebottle’s most powerful stinging cells.  These are like triggered harpoons that are delicately commandeered and used for their own defenses.  The sting from a Glaucus can be even worse than that of a bluebottle.

Nudibranchs are amongst the coolest creatures in the ocean; some are solar powered, some are coloured by their food and all are simultaneous hermaphrodites – it’s not surprising they have a fan club… www.seaslugforum.com.au.

In the film Nemo, if Nemo’s mother had been eaten, as portrayed at the start of the film, Nemo’s father would actually have had a sex change.

Clownfish are all born male with the amazing ability to change sex when there is a shortage of females around.

For some reason it was felt this wasn’t the ideal message for a children’s film so that sub-plot was left out. As was the fact that Nemo wasn’t actually a clownfish at all… he was a false anemonefish… an imposter… all be it with the same ability to change sex.

Photographed by Richard Vevers

t eaten at the start of the film Nemo.

The origin of the Zombie comes from the puffer fish and Sydney Harbour is full of them. They contain a poison that is 1000 times more toxic than cyanide.  Voodoo priests used a tiny dose of this poison to paralyse their victims and make them appear dead. After burying them alive, they would dig them back up to create ‘the walking dead’.

Fortunately we are not aware of any practising Voodoo priests in Sydney at the moment which explains general lack of zombies roaming the streets. In fact there’s no need to be afraid of Sydney puffer fish at all – they are completely harmless unless you eat or lick one. Yes, people have tried to lick them and it has never turned out well.

Image by Richard Vevers

The naming guy had bad day when he named the Australian Seal. It’s actually a Sea Lion.

However you can understand the confusion, they look nothing like lions. Instead, they rather look like dogs. They even play like dogs, bark underwater like dogs and they even give birth to pups.

They also, like dogs, don’t like to pick up their own poo, which is why it is never wise to stand downwind of a ‘sea dog’ colony.

This colony lives at Montague Island in NSW.

Photographed by Richard Vevers

Australia is where nature went wild, creating some of the most beautiful and bizarre creatures on the planet… let us introduce you.

Cheerleader crabs are just as attractive as the real thing. Or is that just me?

These tiny little crabs pick up stinging anemones in their pincers and use them as pom poms. As you approach them underwater, they do their little routine. “Gimme a C… Gimme an H… Gimme an E”… you get the idea.

They are actually trying to scare you off, but let’s face it, it doesn’t really work on humans… 2cm cheerleaders just aren’t that scary.

Photographed by Richard Vevers

So you think the box jellyfish is scary? Sure, each has the enough toxin to kill up to 60 people. But that’s just the start. Box jellyfish aren’t like other jellyfish… they can see! They have 24 eyes that give them total 360 degree vision. And they can swim… faster than Ian Thorpe. Respect the jelly.

Photographed by Valerie Taylor