The Shark That Walks on Land: And Other Strange But True Tales of Mysterious Sea Creatures

Michael Bright worked as an executive producer with the BBC's world-renowned Natural History Unit, based in Bristol. He is the author of over a hundred books on wildlife, travel and conservation, including Sharks, Wild Caribbean and the bestselling Africa, which accompanied the popular David Attenborough series. He is the recipient of many international radio and television awards, including the prestigious Prix Italia.

Takes readers under the sea on a journey of discovery, featuring stories of sea serpents, mermaids, sea dragons, and all manner of unusual underwater animals along the way.

Introduction ixExtraordinary ocean events 1Holy flying ... what! 8Mermaids ahoy 13The ocean's oldest and youngest inhabitants 21Living fossils 27Speedsters 35Deepest divers 40Zones of the open ocean 45Trouble in the sunlight zone 47In the faint glow of the twilight zone 49In the inky darkness of the midnight zone 53Deep down in the abyss 60In the deepest deeps 65Raining down from above 68Deep-sea hot springs 72Deep-sea anomaly 76Cold seeps 78Below the seabed 81Deep-sea giants 84Odd sharks 87Monster shark 92Baskers 95White death 97Ocean's dustbin 104Sniff 'n' snack 106The adaptable bull shark 110Sharks that bite people 113Deadly jellies 117The ocean's most venomous animals 125Tales of whales 129Toothed whales 139Wolves of the sea 144Flipper and friends 148Violent killers 151Jonah and the whale 153More men overboard 159Jonah, the whale and reality 161Jonah and the shark 165Jonah and a monster shark 178Kraken uncovered 183The world's biggest invertebrates 186All head and arms 190Size is everything 196Clever crustaceans 199On the rocks 206Mud, mud, glorious mud 212Coral reef characters 217Heads or tails? 227Coral reef valet service 229Fish tales 232Birds at sea 236Performing seals 241Well-travelled seals 244Turtle travels 246Miscellany of maritime mysteries 250Sea monkey 251Mermen explained 255On the high seas 257North Atlantic sighting 259Newfoundland mysteries 261South Devon predator 263