Teeming with life, the ocean is home to an astonishing variety of animals. With her scientist's lively curiousity, Miss Earle has studied many of them. For this book she has chosen twenty-three examples of the strange shapes and habits to be found among saltwater creatures, creating in text and illustration an informative portrait of each one.

Frequently a sea animal appears to have a counterpart on land. As the porcupine protects itself with quills, so the porcupine fishes defend themselves with sharp spines. The large pectoral fins of the flying fishes act almost like wings, enabling them to escape their pursuers by sailing above the water for as much as an eigth of a mile at a speed of twenty two miles per hour. The venom sacs of sea snakes and stonefish give them vicious weapons like the venom filled fangs of the deadly cobra.

Much of this material comes from the author's firsthand observations at various marine biological stations. The reader will find it provides an instructive glimpse into the secrets of the deep.

From the dust jacket