Most of us are familiar with the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig. Some even know the characteristics of those born under each sign.
So here’s a challenge: can you name 12 marine animals that share the same name as these Zodiac animals?
Check your answers against S.E.A. Aquarium’s 12 underwater zodiac animals below.
Ratfish
The ratfish is no cousin of the rat; its name comes from its rat-like tail, which reaches almost half its overall length. The spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei) is actually related to sharks and lays eggs in leathery cases.
Similar to rats, it is quite harmless unless threatened – when it uses its spines to inflict mildly toxic wounds on its predator.
Cowfish
Cowfish
The cowfish gets its name from the two horns on its head, which makes it hard to swallow by predators. But the horns of the cowfish can break off and regrow, a skill our terrestrial cows do not have.
Unlike their gentle land namesakes, the cowfish has poisonous skin and the ability to release toxin when threatened.
Tigerfish
At a glance, you won’t mistake the tigerfish for a striped tiger. But when you look at its razor sharp teeth, you’ll see where it got its name from.
The tigerfish is known to “pounce” from the water to catch birds in flight. Unlike the tigers in the jungle which hunts alone, the tigerfish often hunts in packs and occasionally eats large animals.
Rabbitfish
The rabbitfish gets its name from its rabbit-like mouth. Like the rabbit, it is herbivorous but prefers to feed on benthic algae instead of carrots.
It is a schooling fish when young, moving from mangrove to reef in small groups. When older, it prefers to swim alone or in pairs.
Seadragon
Seadragon
The seadragon doesn’t look exactly like the dragons found in the TV series, Game of Thrones, but it does look similar to the description of Chinese dragons.
A seadragon doesn’t breathe fire but it can swim well even in strong current. There are two types of seadragon–leafy and weedy seadragons. You can differentiate the weedy seadragon by its less elaborate fins.
Sea snake
Finally, something in the list that’s actually related to its land-bound counterpart. The sea snake evolved to become completely aquatic, living its live at sea without the need to leave the water.
The lungs of the sea snake have evolved to be so big that they extend to almost the entire length of their body. They can remain underwater for eight hours.
Seahorse
Seahorse
When you squint hard, you’ll see that the seahorse has a head and neck that looks like those of a horse. Unlike the stallion, the seahorse is a poor choice for any knight in shining armour under the sea.
The seahorse doesn’t swim well. It moves by beating its tiny dorsal fins rapidly and steers using its pectoral fins. The slowest-moving fish in the world is the dwarf seahorse with a top speed of about 1.5 m per hour.
Goatfish
Goatfsih
The goatfish has a pair of chin barbels which look very much like a goatee. It uses the chin barbels to probe the seafloor to detect buried prey.
Unlike the herbivorous goat found on land, the goatfish eats worms and crustaceans found in the loose sand.
Monkeyfish
Monkeyfish
From its looks, you probably can’t tell that the arowana is nicknamed “water monkey”. It got its name because of its ability to jump out of water to capture its prey. It is known to leap 2 m out of the water to catch prey such as insects and birds from overhanging branches.
Roosterfish
Roosterfish
The roosterfish has seven very long spines of the dorsal fin which resembles a rooster comb. The fins are usually retracted along its back and rise when it is excited.
Dog-faced pufferfish
Dog-faced pufferfish
The dog-faced pufferfish has a cute dog-snout-like face. But unlike man’s best friend, the dog-faced pufferfish has deadly poison tetrodotoxin which if consumed can cause human death. Without the ability to bark, this fish wards off potential enemies by inflating its body.
Porkfish
Porkfish
While the porkfish looks nothing like the meat served on land, it got its name from the grunting sounds it makes when it grinds its teeth together.
Not as tasty as its namesake, you might want to skip eating porkfish as it has been associated with ciguatera poisoning in humans.
There you have it, the 12 underwater zodiac animals. With this, you can successfully complete the Monkey Mission adventure trail at S.E.A. Aquarium this Lunar New Year, from 23 Jan to 22 Feb 2016. Here’s wishing everyone a Gong SEA Fa Cai in the Year of the Monkey.
Monkey Mission map
