I’m not sure what the two black dots are, because they’re not eyes that’s for sure. But, those rosy cheeks - too cute! @Redglare Is this a contender with the Sea bunny? Sea bunny vs Sea sheep?! THE battle of CUTE of the Ages!
Some of my favourites:
Pufferfish 河豚「ふぐ」
Very funny to see them swimming with their tiny fins, and also the mascot of Tofugu!

Napoleon fish 眼鏡黐之魚「めがねもちのうお」
Wouldn’t describe them as beautiful… but they’re HUGE
Picasso triggerfish
I think the name suits them very well
Bluespotted stingray
Those were absolutely lovely! <3<3<3 I’m pretty sure that another name for Napoleonfish, is Humphead Wrasse (for more googling-options ).
Who doesn’t love ペンギン = penguins? He was my favorite character in Polar Bear’s Cafe, and I grew up loving Pengu! <3 Here are some pics celebrating these funny/cute creatures!
African penguins ケープペンギン
Gentoo penguins ジェンツーペンギン
Emperor penguins 皇帝ペンギン こうていペンギン or コウテイペンギン
Emperor penguin chibis <3<3<3
Adele penguin アデリーペンギン (out for a walk glide )
And of course, Pengu!
Rays 鱝 (えい) are funky creatures. Graceful, majestic, and a bit strange! (I think it’s pretty cool that they breathe in from behind their eyes! )
Manta ray マンタ // 鬼糸巻エイ おにいとまきえい or オニイトマキエイ + remoras (suckerfish) 小判鮫 こばんざめ or コバンザメ clinging to the ray
I’m pretty sure that no matter how much they flap their fins, they won’t fly
Cowtail stingray ツカエイ
Cownose ray
Devilrays 糸巻エイ いとまきえい or イトマキエイ forming a shoal
Bullseye round stingray
Bluespotted ribbontailray
Stingray スティングレイ
Late to the game, but I always interpreted it as having the same meaning as in 木の実, ie “bear fruit/bear nut”
No pictures, but I love the Japanese word for seahorses- 竜の落とし子 or bastard child of dragons
And Animal Crossing New Horizons is filled with Japanese fish and bug puns if any of you have switches and haven’t played yet. Highly recommend
A quick an easy way to detect morays… For those who have a large supply of disposable knees, that is.
Welcome into the water! I loved the translated name for seahorses (I guess it makes sense ). Some fishes have quite a few names listed on jisho, but marked as archaic. It’s fun when there’s an entry for a specific sub-species. I never thought there would be so much on there. It’s great to learn more about these fishies. ^>^
If you’re looking for more translated names, as long as the articles are linked between languages on Wikipedia, I find it’s a pretty good source of names. It’s also good for manga and anime too.
Why didn’t I think about that?! Mind blown! Great tip!
Some coral reef fishies! <3 Fun fact: a lot of these fishes look completely different as adults compared to when they were young. Some change their colors and patterns again as they grow older. Some even change their gender with age. Pretty amazing!
The Great Barrier Reef (グレート・バリア・リーフ) footage
Clown triggerfish 紋殻皮剥 もんがらかわはぎ or モンガラカワハギ
Powdered blue tang/surgeonfish パウダーブルーサージョンフィッシュ
Queen triggerfish ケショウモンガラ
Nemo again! <3
Picasso triggerfish ムラサメモンガラ again!
Titan triggerfish 胡麻紋殻 ごまもんがら or ゴマモンガラ
Blue spotted boxfish 箱河豚 はこふぐ or ハコフグ
Emperor angelfish 縦縞巾着鯛 たてじまきんちゃくだい or タテジマキンチャクダイ + ???
Kind of surprised the internet’s favourite Promachoteuthis Sulcus hasn’t made it to this list. Give it up for these chompers:
Since there has only been one specimen found, I doubt this has any specifically Japanese name, though.
It looks like some mutated sea star! I’m also pretty sure I’ve seen it in some movie or another with creepy creatures in it (could it have escaped from a movie set perhaps??). XD
It’s well-known cuttlefish and octopuses use camouflage to hide themselves. But, lots of other sea creatures do as well.
Ornate Ghost pipefish
Pipefish 楊子魚 ようじうお or ヨウジウオ
these guys are relatives of seahorses 竜の落とし子
Stonefish 鬼達磨鰧 おにだるまおこぜ or オニダルマオコゼ
Scorpionfish
Titan scorpionfish
Decorator crab
With anamones ( アネモネ ) growing on it.
Carrying a huge sea urchin 海胆 うに for protection
Yay! Sea pancakes!
Seals are pretty amazing. There’re several types of seals. The cubs are often quite different from their parents, all fluffy and cuddly! <3
Leopard seal 豹海豹 ひょうあざらし or ヒョウアザラシ
Biting a penguin to death (!) not bloody, but grim
Ringed seal 輪紋海豹 わもんあざらし or ワモンアザラシ
Ribbon seal (very rare) 鞍掛海豹 くらかけあざらし or クラカケアザラシ
Harp seal 竪琴海豹 たてごとあざらし or タテゴトアザラシ
Harp seal cub <3<3<3

Weddell seal family ウェッデル海豹 or ウェッデルアザラシ
Elephant seal 象海豹 ぞうあざらし or ゾウアザラシ
Out of the way!
Time to bring out the big boys: whales 鯨 くじら! Most people know they’re the biggest mammals on the planet, but did you know they can fart? Because they can!
Blue whale 白長須鯨 しろながすくじら or シロナガスクジラ
Gray whale 小鯨 こくじら or 克鯨 こくくじら
Mink whale ミンク鯨 or ミンククジラ
Sperm whale 抹香鯨 まっこうくじら or マッコウクジラ
With friends <3
Pygmy sperm whale 小抹香 こまっこう
Fin whale 長須鯨 ながすくじら or ナガスクジラ
Beluga whale 白海豚 しろいるか or ベルーガ I these guys!
While this does look dramatic, being eaten by a whale is a myth (most eat @plantron or krill, or something like that.
)
Phew, I thought when you see whales you think of me
Well, now that you mention it you are a bit like an awe-inspiring giant swimming the seas of these forums.
I intend that as a compliment! ^>^