This is a celebration of photos taken by the National Geographic underwater photographers and the Census of Marine Life. They have captured varied and intriguing organisms in the ocean.

The author Nancy entertains us with her stories about the sea creatures' names, defenses, migration, mating habits and more.

Nancy Knowlton is a coral reef biologist and a former Chair for Marine Science at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

The Census of Marine Life, is a decade-long project encompassing more than 2,700 scientists across the world, sought to answer this question: What lives in the ocean? The census revealed thousands of new species and this book captures many of them.

Beautifully illustrated, this is as close as most of us will get so it's fascinating to see and read all about the creatures.