#6. Dwarf Minke Whales

30 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises live in, or visit Great Barrier Reef waters. One of the whales is called is dwarf minke whale and it was only discovered in Great Barrier Reef waters during the 1980s. This whale is the second smallest of the balleen whales. The minke whale mostly to be seen is from the shore in the U.K. and Ireland, especially in Scotland, the Northern Isles and Western Ireland. It is rare in the Southern North Sea and Channel region. Most of the baleen whales undergo seasonal migrations and, in many cases, these are over huge distances. However the minke whale unusually are not conforming to this pattern, although they seem to move further away from the shore in the autumn. They also appear to be more solitary than other baleens.

-->Can you guess where the name of this whale came from?

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/minke.shtml

#6. Sea Snakes

Sea snakes are poisonous snakes that live in marine environments for most of their lives. Although they evolved from terrestrial ancestors, mostly got used to waters and they can't move on land except for the genus Laticauda but only limited movement on land. Their stretchy bodies are preadapted for efficient swimming. And most species have developed paddle shaped tails that further increases their ability to move in water.These are found in warm water from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. And like Great Barrier reefs, these are found in Austrailian waters, too.

-->Why do you think although sea snakes' ancestors are form land, now they are used to the water?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_snake
http://www.reef.crc.org.au/discover/plantsanimals/seasnakes/index.html