Top 10 Marine Wildlife(Namibia)

Best Magnificent Wild Marine Animals Off The Namib Desert Coastlines

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The list below is made of the most intriguing and wonderful marine wildlife that roam the Namibian ocean a lot of mysteries and myths where foretold by natives about this creatures today after much research and documentation they are considered very important surplus to the ecosystems they inhabit and are reasonably treasured by conservationist and environmentalist that study the Namibian shorelines for science and to set a well balanced marine ecosystem elsewhere around the world.

1.Southern Finback Whale(Balaenoptera Physalus)

This whale species is the second largest after the blue whale that could also be sighted in the Namibian shorelines it has a long slender and streamline build that could easy out pace any animal of similar size,its brownish grey and has a lighter below it's a filter feeder and falls under the beleen whales which are soft and curtain like teetfood,it commonly feeds on schooling fish, squid, and crustaceans including copepods and krill it is very common in Namibia because if it's mildly cold waters and abundance of food it can be sighted at the Walvis bay area little is known about the Southern Finback because of its constant migratory behaviour and displaced habitat.

2.Haviside's Dolphin(Cephalorhynchus Heavisidii)

The Havisides Dolphin is endemic to the cold benguella ocean around the shores of Namibia it's black and greyish on the entire texture of it's body with a little lighter off it front lower belly and flanks its small fast and playful just like it's larger common cousins they hunt and socialise in small handful groups their size and blunt snout makes it very easy for onlookers to mistake it for a porpoise,sightings of this dolphins is more common during spring and summer due to its mating calender,Heaviside's have a very low population count mostly due to their extremely long calving periods and short live expectancy making them a very rare sighting this dolphin species can be seen thought the entire shoreline this playful marine mammals have arguably one of the cleanest dives in its species a magnificent sight.

3.Spotted Gully Shark(Triakis Megalopterus)

This species of hound shark can been spotted throughout the entire Namibian shoreline like the Heaviside's Dolphins it's endemic to the area spanning from the Cape of South Africa to Northern Angola its preferred feed areas are commonly murky waters with rocky reefs,it is a less active swimmer mostly found on the grounds floating and drifting on the button of protruding rooks and sandy ridges this shark is usually Bronx greyish and has one of the flashiest displays of shark fins with some black beauty mark like dots on its front end.Mainly active at night,it feeds mostly on crustaceans,seizable bony fish and cephalopods this shark species are susceptible to accidental catches because of their small range sightings are common among shallow water divers.

4.Southern Scamperdown Whale(Mesoplodon Grayi)

This whale species is notoriously known for its frequent stranding tendencies,they are eagerly gregarious it is slender with a bulge in its middle equivalent to it's blowhole and large lungs it has one of the most unique and complex teething structures in its species almost human like,it's natural colour is much common in the large migratory marine species with a darkened grey at it's upper body and burrowing down to it's belly adult males usually have scared lineages on their upper body mostly because of mating rights fightings both species have with beak's with the females with white spots around their genitals whales are considered endangered species due to overfishing in the early 50's and late 70's with only a handful of species remaining in the wildlife regardless of species.

5.Thintail Thresher Shark(Alopias Vulpinus)

Thresher sharks where common throughout the world now have been hunted to extremely vulnerable to extinction they are a very common exotic food source in Asian kitchens and hunted for sport by recreational anglers among others its a race against time for conservationist and environmentalist from all over the world to save this incredible creature before it's time on this planet is finally short lived,it has a over protruding back tail hens its name with a bronze upper body and bright belly it's a solitary and active predators using their long tail to stun prey who prefer the open ocean although sightings have been made in shallow waters,they are slender with rounded heads and wide nostrils with small dorsal fins and large,recurved pectoral fins they usually have small eyes,Colourations can range from brownish, bluish or purplish gray dorsally with lighter shades ventrally a beautiful creature threshers post no thread to humans or none have been recorded so far.

6.Risso's Dolphin(Grampus Griseus)

Named after one of its pilot discoverers it has more or less a larger inner body laying of towards the back and front The bulbous head has a vertical crease in front.toothed dolphins usually have a considerable amount of scaring but this dolphine species have a heavier account usually from social encounters and mating rituals,colourations are more formal in infants with the colour white more uniform in adults.this dolphins have petruding teeth but are not used to process food they are commonly used as display artillery during mating conflicts and social altercations,like most dolphins they are playful have complex hunting structures and technique.like most dolphins sexual dimorphism plays a big role where males are more larger and physically statured than females.

7.Common Octopus(Octopus Vulgaris)

This common octopus is cosmopolitan meaning it can be sieghted throughout the world and is the most studied of the lot,they are ambush hunter who prefer the dusk,it is a opportunistic predator that eats almost anything it can grasp around it tentacles but crabs, crayfish, and bivalve molluscs are preferred.

8.Sei Whale(Balaenoptera Borealis)

This species of whale inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters,it is third largest whale it is migratory staying vastly clear of colder waters including the benguella even though some unusual sightings where recorded in recent years popularly due to global warming and the annual el nino phenomenon it's slender body stuture makes it a pacy swimmer and less predictable. killer whales being its common natural predator besides humans who hunt in access it consumes roughly a ton a food daily and has to be on the constant move its diet consists primarily of copepods, krill, and other zooplankton.It is among the fastest of all whales species in adjacent to it's relative size.this whales colouration is primarily greyish.

9.Long-toothed Whale(Mesoplodon Layardii)

This whale species has one of the unique and bazaar teething structure of the lot the teeth emerge from the lower jaw and grow upward and back at a 45 degree angle to encircle the upper jaw and nearly close it. This enormous teeth can grow to a max 30 cm mostly used for mating conflicts this teeth are displayed proudly when the seasons are ribbed and hormones run wild.The coloration of this species is also unusual for a sub species, since it is rather bold.most of the body is black except for white areas on the front of the beak, the throat, behind the head in a shape reminiscent of a Cape of South Africa, and near the genitals. Juveniles do not have this coloration and are typically countershaded, dark above and light below,customary sighting of this whale is common during the summer and spring along the coast of Walvis Bay.

10.Bluenose Cow Shark(Hexanchus Griseus)

This shark has one or the most peculiar names on this list and a evenly noticeable appearance said to be more connected to it's ancient fossil relatives The bluntnose shark has a large body and long tail. The snout is blunt and wide, and its eyes are small. There are 6 rows of saw-like teeth on its lower jaw and smaller teeth on its upper jaw.The skin color ranges from tan, through brown, to black. It has a light-colored lateral line down the sides and on the fins' edges, and darker colored spots on the sides. They also get spots on their neural arches, and the number of spots increase as they get older.Its pupils are black and its eye color is a fluorescent blue-green this shark can be sighted in the up northern part of the shorelines

That's it for this weeks top 10 click The link below to E-mail the editor if there's something you'd like to share or want to clarify something pertaining to this particular article thanks for reading and kind regards:-).

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A little Honourable mention for the Southern Right Whale Dolphin(Lissodelphis Peronii) that didn't make the list, this time round but still loved by many in this part of the world.

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