Fauna of the South China Sea

A semi-enclosed sea in the Pacific Ocean off Southeast Asia, between the Indochina Peninsula and the islands of Kalimantan, Palawan, Luzon and Taiwan.

Area - 3,537,289 km², maximum depth - 5,560 m, average depth - 1,024 m, surface water temperature in February - from 20 °C in the north to 27 °C in the south, in August it reaches 28-29 °C over the whole area. Salinity of the water is 32-34 ‰. 

The bottom in deep water is silt and sand, and coral near islands and reefs. In the southern part of the route, silt, sand and seashell predominate, with coral on the banks and rocky bottoms near the shores of rocky islands.

The sea is rich in biological resources, various species of algae (from unicellular to green and red algae). Phytoplankton is rather scarce due to the fact that the water surface is insufficiently saturated with oxygen and mineral substances. Fauna is represented in all its splendor. 

Common Inhabitants of the South China Sea

There is a huge variety of species of fish, jellyfish, polyps, cephalopods, clams, mussels, gastropods, shellfish, echinoderms, sea urchins, starfish, snake tails, crayfish, crabs, shrimp, and other. But unfortunately, each species of creature has a limited small population.

Commercial fish of this sea are: Pacific herring, Yellowspotted trevally, Black-banded trevally, Japanese large-eye bream, Red seabream, Trout sweetlips, Goldlined Seabream, Spanish Mackerel, Albacore, Blacktip sardinella, Redlip croaker and Giant mottled eel. 

Some of the larger fish include giant sea devils, many species of stingrays, electric rays, limpets, swordfish, marlin, tuna, moray eels, barracudas and sablefish.

Some of the larger fish of the South China Sea include the Giant oceanic manta ray, Giant guitarfish, Eyed flounder, Fine-spotted leopard whipray, Pink whipray, Smalltooth sawfish, Swordfish, Indo-Pacific sailfish, Indo-Pacific blue marlin, Narrowtail moray, Lipspot moray eel, Blotch-necked moray, Australian mottled moray, Japanese barracuda, Pacific cutlassfish.

Sharks in the South China Sea

There are many sharks in this sea, they are diverse - deep, bottom and coastal. The most famous species living in these waters are: Whale shark, Tiger shark, Great white shark, Shortfin mako shark, Oceanic whitetip shark, Blue shark, Indonesian wobbegong, Spotted wobbegong, Coral catshark. In most cases all these sharks are very shy and not easy to approach. To avoid unpleasant and life-threatening consequences, this should not be attempted.

Diving in the South China Sea

The underwater world of the South China Sea is diverse and attractive. A large number of rare species of fish and other marine life live here in abundance. These include Flat-faced seahorse, Whitefin surgeonfish, Cinnamon clownfish, Arrow-head soapfish, Garish hind, Asian butterflyfish, Hong Kong butterflyfish, Blackfin fairy-warsse, Ocean humbug, Flame tail blenny, Redlip morwong, Threespot wrasse, Spanish flag snapper, Humpnose big-eye bream, Chinese demoiselle, Sixspine butterflyfish, Big-scale Parma, Bicolor goatfish, Amethyst anthias, Red naped wrasse, Brown-banded butterflyfish, Asian sheepshead wrasse, Streaked spinefoot, Black scraper, Threadtail anthias, Fang's pygmy goby, African spadefish, as well as leisurely turtles and an exuberant variety of corals of all colors. Some divers are lucky enough to find shells with real pearls on the bottom. 

The Dangerous Inhabitants of the South China Sea

Nothing good can come from encountering the dangerous inhabitants of this sea. You should be wary of Spotfin lionfish, Devil firefish, African lionfish, Clearfin lionfish, Red lionfish, Bluespotted ribbontail ray, Flathead Helmet Gurnard, Sea goblin, Longfingered scorpionfish, Poss's scorpionfish, Box jellyfish, Siphonophorae, Blue-ringed octopus, Cone snails. All of these inhabitants have extremely strong venom and can cause great problems to human health.