Meet The Real-Life Animals From Finding Nemo
Published on 4/25/25
Written by Jessica Colla
Disney-Pixar’s Finding Nemo (2003) introduced millions of people to the wonders of the ocean! Although the movie added some “creative” storytelling, the real marine animals behind the characters are just as fascinating!
The creators really did their homework – in fact, the film’s illustration team took marine biology classes and even went scuba diving on real coral reefs for inspiration (like Molokini Crater in Maui!).
Let’s dive into the real-life counterparts of your favorite characters from Finding Nemo!
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1. Nemo & Marlin
Common Name: Clown Anemonefish (Ocellaris Anemonefish or Clownfish)
Scientific Name: Amphiprion ocellaris
Description: Nemo and Marlin are clown anemonefish — tiny, vibrant fish recognized by their bright orange coloration, three white vertical bands and black accents, and a rounded body shape. Adults typically reach 3-4 inches (7-11 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
Anemonefish are famous for their symbiotic partnership with sea anemones, where they find shelter and protection from predators in exchange for cleaning and aeration of their living homes. These reef dwellers have a special protective mucus coating that keeps them safe from their host anemone’s stinging tentacles!
All anemonefish are born male! In real life, anemonefish live in groups led by one female and her male mate. If the dominant female (like Coral) dies, the dominant male (Marlin) would actually change sex and become female — a fascinating behavior called sequential hermaphroditism. If Finding Nemo were real, Marlin might have turned into Nemo’s mom after Coral was lost – but that’s a little abstract for a kids’ movie!
Wild clownfish rarely stray far from their home anemone, making Marlinʻs epic ocean journey very unlikely for a real clownfish. However, his nervousness and anxiety when away from home is realistically exaggerated. A real clownfish wouldn’t go that far – but it makes for a great adventure story!
Clownfish are protective parents! The female will tend to a clutch of eggs she laid nearby the home anemone. The male also guards and cares for the eggs, fanning them with his fins to keep them oxygenated until they hatch. Marlin’s fierce protectiveness over Nemo is an creatively over-exaggerated take on this instinct to guard eggs and fry (baby fish).
Fun Fact: Nemo’s “lucky fin” cleverly mirrors how real ocean animals can adapt to challenges like birth defects or injury after predation.
Did you know? You can tell clownfish individuals apart by slight variations in their color and pattern!
2. Dory
Common Name: Blue Tang (Regal Tang or Palette Surgeonfish)
Scientific Name: Paracanthurus hepatus
Description: Dory’s striking royal blue body and bright yellow tail are just like a real Blue Tang’s vibrant appearance! Look closely to see the bold black “painters palette” pattern. They are oval-shaped and typically grow up to 12 inches (30 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
Blue tangs have razor-sharp, venomous spines near the tail, which they flick out for defense if threatened! This “scalpel” is the origin of the family common name Surgeonfish. So Dory may be forgetful, but she’s not defenseless!
Real blue tangs are herbivores, spending their days darting across the reef, nibbling algae from rocks and coral structures. This diet helps prevent algae overgrowth, making surgeonfish one of the most essential species on the reef for coral health.
As juveniles, blue tangs are actually bright yellow! They develop their blue and black pattern as they mature. (Sorry Finding Dory fans!) Their blue body can deepen to a dark navy at night, or even turn pale blue when stressed.
Unlike the movie, blue tangs often swim in small groups. Dory’s solitary wandering upon meeting Marlin is unusual for her social species. However, teaming up with Marlin aligns with Dory’s backstory and her movie-long attempt to find her way home.
Fun Fact: Blue tangs can "play dead" by lying motionless on their side if startled!
Did you know? Although Dory’s memory loss is a creative character trait; studies show that many reef fish like butterflyfish, cleaner wrasse and (you guessed it) surgeonfish actually have excellent detailed, long-term memories!
3. Gill
Common Name: Moorish Idol
Scientific Name: Zanclus cornutus
Description: Gill’s is a Moorish Idol — an elegant fish with a flattened, disk-shaped body and a delicate, elongated top fin called a “dorsal filament.” Their sleek black and white vertical bands with vivid yellow highlights perfectly mirrors the real-life Moorish Idol. They grow up to about 7-8 inches (18-20 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
Moorish idols are famously difficult to keep in captivity. Disney insinuates this through Gill’s longing for freedom, and the mysterious origin of his scar and damaged fin. In the wild, Moorish Idols roam the reef in mated pairs or small social groups. They eat sponges, coral polyps, small worms and other tiny invertebrates - a diet that is difficult to replicate in captivity.
The Moorish idol is so unique, it’s the only species in its entire fish family (Zanclidae)! A distant relative of tangs and surgeonfish, Moorish Idol’s stands alone taxonomically – truly one of a kind. No wonder he's a “lone wolf” in the movie!
Scientists theorize the long trailing dorsal fin filament might be used for maneuvering around complex reef structures, deterring predators or to attract a mate … but no one knows for sure!
The name “Moorish idol” comes from the Moors (North African people) who legend says believed this fish brought happiness or luck. So it’s literally seen as an idol of good fortune in some cultures.
Fun Fact: Moorish Idol are found throughout tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean basins, which scientists contribute to an unusually long larval stage.
Did you know? In reality, a Moorish idol probably wouldn’t mastermind escape plans. But Gill’s wisdom and world-weary personality fits a fish that is one of the smartest on the reef, with a huge brain to match!
4. Bubbles
Common Name: Yellow Tang
Scientific Name: Zebrasoma flavescens
Description: Bubbles is a vibrant yellow fish with a laterally compressed (disk-shaped) body and a bright white “scalpel” spine at the base of the tail. They typically grow to about 7–8 inches (18–20 cm) long.
Fun Facts:
Bubbles has a one-track mind for the bubbling treasure chest in the dentist’s tank. Their love of bubbles isn’t quite accurate, but Yellow Tangs ARE lively and curious reef fish. Their constant activity and curiosity match Bubbles’ hyper personality, though real yellow tangs don’t obsess over bubble streams.
Yellow Tangs are herbivores, grazing algae from rocks, coral and even turtle shells! In the tank, Bubbles demonstrates a lot of pecking and nibbling behavior on surfaces, just like a real one!
Bubbles is part of the surgeonfish family (like Dory), possessing two small scalpel-like spines - one on each side their tail. They can use these spines to defend themselves from predators. You wouldn’t guess it from Bubbles’ goofy demeanor, but a real yellow tang can give a painful slash if threatened!
5. Bloat
Common Name: Giant Porcupinefish (Porcupine Pufferfish)
Scientific Name: Diodon holocanthus
Description: Bloat’s is a porcupinefish, with a rotund body covered in short, outward-pointing spines and big eyes. Normally tan to brown in color with darker brown spots, these fish can grow up to 12-18 inches (30-35 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
When threatened, porcupinefish can inflate their bodies by gulping water (or air), almost doubling in size! When puffed up, their sharp spines stick outward, making them even more intimidating — just like Bloat’s dramatic puffing scenes! This remarkable defensive strategy makes them appear larger and inedible to predators like sharks!
REMEMBER: Bloat demonstrates this comically when he puffs up in the dentist’s office tank after an argument. BUT in real life, inflation is a stress response. DO NOT harass or handle a pufferfish, or encourage it to “puff up” for entertainment purposes.
Many pufferfish species (including porcupinefish) contain tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin that deters predators. One pufferfish can have enough toxin to potentially kill multiple humans, making them one of the most toxic vertebrates in the world!
In the wild, porcupinefish are solitary and shy — swimming away from divers and snorkelers — not as social as Bloat appears in the tank gang. However, if youʻre lucky, they will swim alongside you to get a closer look with their big, bulging eyes!
In the wild, a porcupine puffer cruises reefs slowly, looking for hard-shelled prey like snails, crabs, and urchins to crunch on with its strong, beak-like teeth. These fused teeth are incredibly powerful, capable of cracking into thick mollusk shells in one crunch! These teeth grow continuously, so puffers need hard foods to wear them down.
Did you know? Giant Porcupinefish are the largest pufferfish species in the world!
Fun Fact: Puffers are known to be quite personable in aquariums and can even recognize their feeders! Bloat’s jovial, hearty appetite is pretty true – real porcupinefish often beg for food and seem to have “puppy-like” curiosity.
6. Gurgle
Common Name: Royal Gramma (Fairy Basslet)
Scientific Name: Gramma loreto
Description: Gurgle’s flashy purple and yellow two-tone coloration and cigar-shaped body is true to the real Royal Gramma. These small but fierce coral reef fish grow to about 3 inches (7–8 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
Gurgle is known for being a germophobe, untrusting of potential pathogens from outside the dentist’s aquarium tank. His neurotic personality and tendency to “freak out” is an exaggerated human trait – fish don’t have a concept of cleanliness like we do. Despite this comedic response, real grammas DO like staying in their sheltered nook away from other fish. They occasionally emerge to “clean” other fish by picking off dead skin, algae and parasites from their skin - perhaps Gurgle should have assisted Jacques with Nemo’s cleaning!
Despite their small size, royal grammas can be territorial against other small (or even large) fish, especially other grammas. They will do a bold open-mouth display to scare rivals away from their rocky homes. Gurgle’s initial standoffish attitude towards new tank-mates (Nemo) fits the reality.
Scientists believe the Gramma’s striking coloration is a form of camouflage! Picture this; if a predator views a royal gramma from below against the backlight of the surface, the yellow blends in; from above against the reef, the purple blends with the dark coral beneath. It’s unusual – most fish fade out or have stripes, but the purple-yellow split is pretty unique. Their striking colors also make them popular in saltwater aquariums.
Did you know? Royal Grammas have a unique swim bladder (buoyancy organ) that allows them to swim in any position! In one scene, Gurgle is upside-down on the tank wall; a clever nod to how these fish often orient upside-down in caves and ledges!
7. Deb & “Flo”
Common name: Four-Stripe Damselfish
Scientific name: Dascyllus melanurus
Description: Deb is a four-stripe damselfish — a small, oval-shaped fish with three bold black vertical stripes on the body and a fourth stripe on the tail. Adults reach about 3 inches (7–8 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
Deb believes her reflection is her twin sister “Flo.” Although seeing her reflection as a sibling is purely a comedic element, there’s real evidence that SOME fish really do recognize themselves in mirrors. For example, a few species of wrasse have passed the mirror self-recognition test! However, Deb’s delusional demeanor could be Pixar making light of how other fish species might not understand mirrors. Rest assured, no actual damselfish have identity crises ... we think.
Deb (and “Flo”) demonstrate the real-life feistiness and territoriality of damselfish in nature. A four-stripe damsel might be only 3 inches long, but it will chase much larger fish away from its favorite coral head, algae patch or egg cluster. Deb’s quirky conversation with her “sister” aside, a real Damselfish would be busily bossing other small fish around their patch of reef.
Black-and-white stripes help them blend among the light and shadow of coral branches. Juveniles have a tinge of yellow, especially near the nose, that fades as they mature. Deb’s purely black-and-white indicates she’s an adult.
Some damselfish "farm" algae gardens! They cultivate and tend algae on a rock so they have a personal underwater garden and endless food supply. This garden is tempting to other herbivores, so damsels often spend more time defending it than tending it!
Fun Fact:
Damselfish are often the first fish to move into new coral patches, acting like pioneering settlers!
8. Peach
Common Name: Sea Star / Starfish
Scientific Name: Asteroidea spp.
Description: Peach the starfish doesn’t have a direct species counterpart, but most stars have a central disk and five thick, tapering arms and a wide range of color and texture possibilities.
Movie Accuracy:
Sea stars are echinoderms – relatives of sea urchins and sand dollars. They might look simple, but they have some of the weirdest biology in the ocean! If a sea star loses an arm, it can regrow it in a process called regeneration! Some species can even regenerate an entire new starfish from a single arm!
Sea stars don’t have a brain or blood. Instead of blood, they use a water vascular system – basically, they pump seawater through their body to move and to transport nutrients. And a simple nerve network helps them react to the world. Peach’s “wise” character is funny considering real starfish literally lack a brain.
On the underside of each arm, starfish have dozens of tiny tube feet that work like suction cups, allowing them to move slowly and “stick” to surfaces (like tank walls). In the movie, Peach clings to the glass watching Sherman’s dental work – although sea stars donʻt have complex eyes!
Sea stars are predators (despite their gentle image). Many eat shellfish – and they do so by pushing their stomach out through their mouth to digest prey externally and then pulling the soup back in. It’s gross … but effective! Luckily, Peach sticks to commenting on human dentistry and doesn’t demonstrate that in the film!
9. Jacques
Common Name: White-Banded Cleaner Shrimp
Scientific Name: Lysmata amboinensis
Description: Jacques is a banded coral shrimp, easily recognized by his red and white striped body, long white antennae, and small pinching claws. These shrimps grow up to about 2 inches (5 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
In the ocean, cleaner shrimp set up “cleaning stations” on coral reefs. Fish (even big predators) will visit and let the shrimp crawl over them to pick off parasites and dead skin. This helps the fish stay healthy and gives the shrimp a meal – a win-win relationship known as mutualism. Jacques, ever the neat-freak, reflects this real-life role by keeping the tank and his tank-mates clean. His quick cleaning of Nemo upon his arrival (“Voila, he is clean!”) is exactly what a diligent little cleaner shrimp would do on a fish’s first day in the reef.
Those super long antennae help cleaner shrimp sense the water around them and communicate. Jacques uses them to whip debris off Nemo in the tank; in reality, a shrimp would use them to feel approaching clients and to gently touch a fish to signal “I’m cleaning you, don’t eat me.” They even have a distinctive “dance,” where they wave their antennae and do a little jig to advertise their services to passing fish.
Predators like moray eels, groupers and even sharks will refrain from eating cleaner shrimp because they recognize their helpful role. It’s a truce – the shrimp crawls inside the gaping jaws, picks off parasites, and the predator doesn’t bite. Jacques’ fearless approach to cleaning any “filth” mirrors this bravado.
In the wild, cleaner shrimp often live in mated pairs rather than solo as Jacques appears. Many cleaner shrimps (including Lysmata species) are hermaphroditic – they have both male and female reproductive organs. They can function as male or female in a breeding pair. That’s a fun biology fact Jacques might have kept to himself during the movie!
Fun Fact: In a real aquarium, a cleaner shrimp will even try to clean your hand if you put it in!
10. Nigel
Common Name: Brown Pelican
Scientific Name: Pelecanus occidentalis
Description: Nigel is a brown pelican — a large coastal seabird with a long gray-tan body, white head, and a giant expandable throat pouch attached to a long, hooked bill. These birds can grow over 4 feet (1.2 meters) long, with a wingspan up to 8 feet (2.4 meters).
Movie Accuracy:
Nigel, the affable and well-informed pelican, serves as a crucial link between the underwater world and the human realm in Finding Nemo. These incredible birds are often seen gliding gracefully over coastal and inter-coastal waters of the Americas. However, Brown pelicans are NOT native to Australia (where the film is set), so Nigel is an out-of-place species in the film! (Australian Pelicans are all white)
Brown pelicans are famous for their plunge-diving technique — they soar above the water and dramatically dive head-first to pick up fish, just like Nigel is seen diving into the harbor to scoop up Marlin and Dory! During dives, pelicans close their eyes a split-second before impact — they rely on timing and instinct to strike fish without sight!
Their stretchy throat pouch can hold nearly 3 gallons (11 liters) of water and fish, though they drain the water before swallowing their catch — a real-life trait shown as Nigel scoops up Marlin and Dory for transport to 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney. However, sometimes fish get caught in a pelican's throat, which means Nigel's friend Gerald choking on Marlin and Dory is very realistic too!
Did you know? Brown pelicans were once endangered due to pesticide pollution (like DDT), but conservation efforts helped them make a remarkable recovery across North America.
11. Sheldon & Bob
Common Name: Pacific Seahorse
Scientific Name: Hippocampus ingens
Description: Sheldon & Ted are small Pacific Seahorses, notable for their horse-shaped head, monkey-like prehensile tail, a bony armored body and a kangaroo-like brood pouch. Pacific seahorses adults can grow up to about 12 inches (30 cm), but juveniles like Sheldon are much smaller.
Movie Accuracy:
Seahorses are poor, upright swimmers and often rely on their prehensile tails to anchor themselves to seagrass or coral to avoid drifting away — a realistic trait for Sheldon when he sneezes! They have tiny fins that flutter (fast but not powerful) and can actually die of exhaustion in strong currents. Good thing Mr. Ray kept the class in relatively calm water – a seahorse like Sheldon would struggle in open ocean currents beyond the Drop Off!
Male seahorses carry and birth the young, one of the few examples of male pregnancy in the animal kingdom! The female deposits hundreds of eggs into the male’s specialized brood pouch, where he fertilizes them and carries them until they hatch, then gives birth to fully formed tiny seahorses. Perhaps thats why Bob is the protective parent dropping him off at school!
Many seahorses species can change color to camouflage in with their surroundings, and some even grow little skin filaments to look like algae or coral. The smallest seahorse in the world, the 2cm tall Pgymy Seahorse, even camouflages within tiny pink branches of a sea fan.
Although they appear delicate, seahorses are actually ambush predators, slurping up tiny drifting shrimp and other zooplankton with their tube-like snouts. They have no teeth and no stomach, so they must eat constantly (copepods, brine shrimp, other tiny critters) to stay alive. A baby seahorse like Sheldon would be gulping plankton like a vacuum.
Fun Fact: Sheldon’s sneeze and "H2O intolerance" is a playful exageration — but seahorses ARE very sensitive to water conditions, but not allergic to water!
12. Tad & Bill
Common Name: Longnose Butterflyfish (Forceps Butterflyfish)
Scientific Name: Forcipiger flavissimus
Description: Tad and Bill are yellow longnose butterflyfish, recognized by their vivid yellow bodies, a false eye-spot, black face masks, and elongated snouts (Tad has a smaller nose than his father). They typically reach about 9 inches (23 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
The long snout of this butterflyfish acts like a straw or forceps. It allows them to reach into crevices and poke at coral cracks to grab worms, small crustaceans, and other tiny invertebrates that other fish can’t reach. Think of it as a built-in feeding tool for tight spaces!
Longnose butterflyfish have yellow bodies that camouflage with bright coral and sunlight on shallow reefs. Their black-and-white pattern near the head to confuse predators – the false eye spot on the back might make a predator unsure which end is the head, helping them to escape!
Many butterflyfish species roam the reef in mated pairs for years. However, having a parent-child pair is an anthropomorphic twist. Butterflyfish don’t exactly parent their fry, instead they are broadcast spawners - releasing their eggs and sperm into the water to fertilize externally and drift away in the current!
Longnose butterflyfish are considered indicators of reef health — thriving reefs often have many different butterflyfish species. Looks like Nemo’s neighborhood reef is super healthy!
Did you know? In the wild, butterflyfish fry (babies) don’t go to school – in fact, larvae drift in the plankton and juveniles settle on the reef later. Once settled, butterflyfish juveniles often stick closer to shelter, at little different from Tad’s eagerness to explore the The Drop Off!
13. Pearl & Ted
Common Name: Flapjack Octopus
Scientific Name: Opisthoteuthis californiana
Description: Pearl and Ted are flapjack octopuses — small, deep-sea cephalopods with soft, rounded, umbrella-shaped bodies, short webbed arms, and large cartoonish eyes. They’re typically pink to reddish in color and grow to about 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) across.
Movie Accuracy:
Flapjack Octopus are pink and gelatinous, with a pancake-like body that can flatten into a soft disk to “hide.” Unlike many octopus species, flapjack octopuses lack the ability to change color or texture for camouflage.
Flapjack octopus are actually deep-sea dwellers (typically over 500 meters down), and would not be found in coral reefs, so her presence in Nemo’s reef school is a fun yet unrealistic stretch. Their inclusion in the movie adds a touch of deep-sea diversity to the reef community.
Pearl’s famous line after being startled, “aww, you guys made me ink,” is a great demonstration of cephalopods’ ability to eject a distracting cloud of ink to evade predators and make a quick escape!
Pearl’s one short tentacle is a sweet character quirk — real octopuses can lose and regenerate arms, making her detail a biologically plausible nod to octopus adaptability.
Fun Fact: Flapjack octopus have been found off the coast of California and Japan, but haven’t been identified in the depths of Australia … yet.
14. Mr. Ray
Common Name: Spotted Eagle Ray
Scientific Name: Aetobatus narinari
Description: Mr. Ray is a spotted eagle ray, recognized by his broad, diamond-shaped, dark-blue body covered with white spots and his long, whip-like tail. These graceful rays can reach a wingspan of over 10 feet (3 meters).
Movie Accuracy:
In real life, spotted eagle rays glide gracefully over reef flats and sandy bottoms, only descending to the reef to feed. They often swim in groups (like a class!) and can leap out of the water when startled. Although eagle rays don’t do free taxi rides, they are gentle creatures that seem like flying under the sea.
Eagle rays have a long, whip-like tail with 2-6 venomous spines near the base. They are not aggressive, but the spine is a defense if a predator (or unwary human) bothers them too much. Mr. Ray isn’t shown with a dangerous stinger – understandable since he’s kid-friendly.
They have a distinctive head that looks a bit like a bird’s beak from the front (hence “eagle” ray), which open into two paddle-like appendages called cephalic lobes. They often swim in open water and also swoop down to the sandy seafloor to eat clams, crustaceans and worms, using their flattened snouts to dig in the sediment.
Rays and sharks (cartilaginous animals in the class elasmobranchs) have relatively large brains. A spotted eagle ray might learn to recognize scuba divers or repeat migration routes. Mr. Ray’s role as a knowledgeable teacher is a fun play on this – eagle rays are among the more intelligent fish out there (though they are not traditional schoolteachers, of course).
Fun Fact: Real rays don’t vocalize, but Mr. Ray’s educational song about the zones of the ocean is a highlight in the movie – blending facts with fun!
15. Mr. Johhansen
Common Name: Peacock Flounder
Scientific Name: Bothus mancus
Description: Mr. Johansen is a peacock flounder — a type of flatfish with an oval, pancake-like body covered in light brown to tan hues with electric blue rings. Both eyes sit on the left side of his head; facing upward when laying on the sea floor. They can reach about 18 inches (45 cm) long.
Movie Accuracy:
Although he’s a grumpy old man in this scene, Mr. Johhansen was a baby once too! Flounders start life as a tiny microscopic larvae, swimming upright with one eye on each side of their body. During development, one eye migrates to the other side of their head — a real-life transformation that gives flatfish their famous lopsided look. Now the school children simply need to hide in his blind spot!
Peacock flounders are masters of disguise. They can rapidly change color and pattern using special cells called chromatophores to blend with the seafloor, just like Mr. Johansen camouflaged with the sandy bottom at the start of the film.
Flatfish often bury themselves in the sand with only their bulging eyes exposed, making them nearly invisible to predators … and prey. Pixar gets this behavior perfectly when he surprises the young fish in his “yard” before school. Before emerging, all you can see are his two bulging eyes peeking out from beneath the sand!
Disney-Pixar gives Mr. Johansen a grumpy personality - a personification of real floundersʻ grumpy faces and mostly solitary and sedentary lifestyle - lying low unless disturbed or hunting.
16. Crush & Squirt
Common Name: Green Sea Turtle
Scientific Name: Chelonia mydas
Description: Crush and Squirt are green sea turtles, large marine reptiles with smooth, heart-shaped shells that are brown or olive green with lighter markings. Adults can grow to about 3–4 feet (1–1.2 meters) in shell length and weigh up to 500 pounds (227 kg).
Movie Accuracy:
Crush an his little dude Squirt are Green Sea Turtles, known for their chill demeanor – though maybe not quite “Surfer bro” level. Sea turtles do “ride” currents like the North Pacific Gyre or the EAC to conserve energy to migrate efficiently. The film’s depiction of the EAC as a super highway is a bit fanciful (turtles don’t zoom like they’re in a water slide), but they do utilize these current highways to travel long distances.
Sea turtles can live a long time. While 150 years is on the high end (and hard to verify scientifically), it’s not a crazy number – many experts believe some sea turtles may live over a century. Most green turtles likely live 60-80+ years if they survive to adulthood. So Crush’s age joke (“150, and still young!”) is rooted in the real longevity of these reptiles.
One of the biggest fictions of Finding Nemo is the parent-child relationship and social grouping of sea turtles – real sea turtles are solitary. Hatchlings hatch alone and find the sea, and mothers leave after nesting. So Crush caring for Squirt and a whole bunch of little turtles on the EAC is a charming fiction. But showing Crush and his parenting style with Squirt allows the movie to teach Marlin about trusting kids to grow up.
Green sea turtles are named for the greenish color of their body fat, caused by their herbivorous diet of seagrass and algae! Juveniles are more omnivorous since they inhabit the open ocean for the first years of their life, and may even snack on the same jellyfish that stung Dory!
Did you know? Baby sea turtles (hatchlings) instinctively race toward the ocean as soon as they hatch — following the moonlight reflecting on the sea surface, no parental guidance needed!
17. Bruce
Common Name: Great White Shark
Scientific Name: Carcharodon carcharias
Description: Bruce is a great white shark, with a torpedo-shaped body, gray dorsal side, white underside, and a massive mouth full of serrated teeth. Adults typically grow up to 13–20 feet (4–6 meters) long!
Movie Accuracy:
One of the most beloved characters of the film, Bruce is a big, menacing-looking great white shark who’s actually trying to quit eating fish! His motto, "Fish are friends, not food," is a hilarious twist on reality. Great Whites are apex predators and obligate carnivores (they have to eat protein), so his relapse makes sense. However, great whites do play an important role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems by removing sick or injured individuals from the population. In real life, great white sharks would seek much larger prey like dolphins, seals or sea turtles.
Great whites are known for their keen sense of smell – often exaggerated as detecting a single drop of blood miles away. While they CAN sense very low concentrations of blood in a large area, the “smell blood and go wild” trope is played up in the film for comedic effect. Bruce tries to hold it together in the face of fish blood… and fails hilariously. In reality, sharks are cautious and thoughtful predators, often making several passes by prey to observe and access before striking.
Bruce’s massive size and toothy grin certainly match his real-life counterparts. They have several rows of 300 serrated teeth made for slicing prey. As teeth wear out or break, new ones rotate in like a conveyor belt. Over a lifetime, a great white might go through thousands of teeth!
In the wild, great whites are usually solitary, but have been observed in loose groups around rich feeding grounds (like seal colonies) where they may establish a pecking order. However, a “support group” of sharks (especially of different species) is pure fiction, but fun to imagine!
In reality, Bruce would also have to keep swimming to breathe. Great white sharks are “obligate ram ventilators” – they need to move forward to pass water over their gills. If they stop moving, they can suffocate! The movie doesn’t show him stagnating, though. “Just keep swimming, Bruce!”
Fun Fact: Fun trivia: they named Bruce after the mechanical shark from Jaws! Finding Nemo was one of the first movies in Hollywood history that paints sharks as a protagonist (apart from his “feeding frenzy” moment)! Way to go Disney-Pixar!
Did you know? Great white sharks often take "test bites" to investigate, the same way babies do. Unfortunately, this investigative tactic means negative shark encounters with swimmers and surfers are not uncommon. Take precautions to ensure your safety when exploring the ocean like swimming with a buddy, avoid stormy water with low visibility, and avoid feeding hours (dawn and dusk).
18. Anchor
Common Name: Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
Scientific Name: Sphyrna lewini
Description: Anchor is a scalloped hammerhead shark, distinguished by his flattened, T-shaped head and long, slender brown body. These sharks typically grow to 8–14 feet (2.5–4.3 meters) long.
Movie Accuracy:
Anchor’s odd-shaped head (called a cephalofoil) mirrors the real hammerhead’s distinctive silhouette, which gives them enhanced panoramic vision and sensory perception. Throughout their head are hundreds of tiny electroreceptor organs called Ampullae of Lorenzini, which can detect the electrical fields emitted by prey buried under sand. Some scientists believe the electrical sensitivity of Hammerheads is so strong, they can even feel the magnetic field of Earth, aiding in migration!
Unlike great whites, some hammerhead species do school in large numbers during the day, especially scalloped hammerheads around seamounts. It’s one of the most spectacular sights in diving – a school of dozens (or hundreds) of hammerheads. At night they disperse to hunt for fish, squid, crustaceans and stingrays. Anchor hanging with two other shark species isn’t a natural grouping, but hammerheads are the shark species most known for socializing in groups, although probably not for group therapy …
Fun Facts: Pixar’s rendering of Anchor even gives him the characteristic oscillating head motion as he talks, since hammerheads often swim by sweeping their head side to side to see!
Did you know? The "scalloped" part of their name comes from the distinctive curved indentations along the front edge of their hammer.
19. Chum
Common Name: Shortfin Mako Shark
Scientific Name: Isurus oxyrinchus
Description: Chum is a shortfin mako shark, known for its streamlined, torpedo-like body, pointed snout, and long, narrow teeth. They usually grow to about 10 feet (3 meters) long.
Movie Accuracy:
Shortfin Makos are the fastest sharks in the ocean, capable of bursts over 45 miles per hour (74 km/h)! Their speed and agility allows them to catch fast, open-ocean prey like tuna, marlin and even squid. They can also breach (jump) up to 20 feet (6 meters) high above the sea surface! Makos have a special blood vessel system that allows them to keep their muscles warmer than the surrounding water, giving them extra speed. Chum’s energetic, hyperactive personality fits perfectly!
Makos are solitary and highly migratory; often traveling thousands of miles across the open ocean. Of all the sharks in the “fish are friends” gang, Chum is the least likely to be hanging out with other sharks.
Mako sharks really do have a pointed snout and long, sharp teeth designed for grabbing slippery fish found in the open ocean. They often swallow smaller prey whole, or take big bites out of larger prey. Chum’s snaggle-tooth smile and teeth that protrude even when his mouth is closed is completely accurate!
Sadly, Chum has a fish hook stuck in his snout. This detail is a clever touch of realism in character design, hinting at a possible backstory to his connection with the “Fish are friends” club (a bad experience with fishermen, maybe?). It is also a nod to real life, where makos are vulnerable to getting hooked accidentally by longline fisheries (called bycatch). Luckily he escaped with just a “souvenir;” part of his tough-guy image and dark past.
20. The Barracuda
Common Name: Great Barracuda
Scientific Name: Sphyraena barracuda
Description: The great barracuda is a long, torpedo-shaped fish with a silver body, powerful jaws, and sharp, fang-like teeth. Adults can reach about 5–6 feet (1.5–1.8 meters) in length.
Movie Accuracy:
In a brief but pivotal scene that cements the barracuda as the film’s initial villain, it attacks and eats Coral and most of the eggs. A great barracuda has a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth of different sizes, including some that point backward to hold prey inside their jaws. They can easily slice through smaller fish. Coral and Marlin, being small clownfish, would stand no chance against those jaws (as sadly depicted).
Barracudas are formidable stealth predators, often cruising slowly to blend in, then lung with speed to snatch prey in a split-second! The movie shows the barracuda hovering eerily before striking – that suspenseful stillness is something barracudas really do, eyeballing their target until ready to burst forward.
Barracudas are curious and can be attracted to reflective flashes (which resemble the glint of fish scales). Divers are cautioned not to wear shiny jewelry for this reason. In the movie, Coral moves to protect her eggs which are glistening in the sunlight – one could imagine the movement or shine drew the barracuda’s predatory attention.
Big barracudas usually patrol reef edges (just like the drop-off) where they can pick off schooling fish that venture out. The choice of a barracuda at the reef drop-off in the film is biologically sound – it’s exactly the kind of place one might lurk for a meal. I can see why Marlin moved into the dense coral reef after his first encounter!
Fun Fact: Barracudas can reach bursts of speed up to 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) when chasing prey!
The Deep Sea Anglerfish
Common Name: Black Seadevil Anglerfish (Humpback Anglerfish or Black Seadevil)
Scientific Name: Melanocetus spp.
Description: The deep sea anglerfish is a dark, bulbous fish with a huge mouth, needle-like teeth, and a glowing lure (called an esca) extending from its forehead. Females can grow up to about 8 inches (20 cm), while males are much smaller.
Fun Facts:
Female anglerfish have a modified dorsal spine near the head with a light-emitting tip called an esca. The bioluminescence (biological light) is produced by symbiotic bacteria inside the esca and acts as a lure for prey in the darkness of the deep ocean. Curious or unsuspecting animals go toward the “little light” – just like Dory did – and then snap! the anglerfish strikes. This hunting method is exactly what we see in the movie!
Anglerfish can have oversized jaws and expandable stomachs that can swallow prey as big as they are. Their teeth are translucent and needle-like, preventing escape once something is caught. The anglerfish teeth in Finding Nemo is slightly exaggerated, but these fish are known to attempt surprisingly large meals.
Their metabolism is very slow, and they can go a long time between meals (food is scarce in the abyss). The one chasing Marlin and Dory was unusually persistent – likely played up for action! As ambush predators, an anglerfish probably wouldn’t chase its prey quite so far – they usually lunge quickly to grab an unsuspecting prey or let prey come to them.
Most deep-sea anglerfish species have extreme sexual dimorphism: females are much larger (like the scary-looking one we see in the film), and males are teeny-tiny in comparison (only a few centimeters long!). In some species, the male actually fuses to the female’s body and lives parasitically, providing sperm in exchange for nutrients – essentially becoming a permanently-attached mate; that’s stranger than fiction! (The movie didn’t show any mini male attachments on the big anglerfish, which is fine – it’s a detail only biologists usually know).
22. Jellyfish Swarm
Common Name: Pacific Sea Nettle
Scientific Name: Chrysaora fuscescens
Description: The jellyfish Dory and Marlin bounce through are Pacific sea nettles — golden-brown jellyfish with long trailing tentacles and frilly, pinkish oral arms. Their bells can grow over 1.5 feet (45 cm) across, with tentacles extending up to 15 feet (4.5 meters).
Movie Accuracy:
The jellyfish field Dory and Marlin bounce through is a stunning (and dangerous) recreation of a bloom of Pacific Sea Nettles. These jellyfish are planktonic — meaning they drift with ocean currents, not actively swimming against them — so a "wall of jellyfish" is plausible, especially in calm or enclosed waters. If you plan to go swimming in the ocean, be sure to check the tide charts in your area to reduce the risk of getting stung!
Pacific sea nettles have long, trailing tentacles that can stretch over 15 ft (4.5m) long. They are covered in stinging cells called nematocysts, delivering a painful and incapacitating sting to its prey. A real threat that’s portrayed when Marlin and Dory get painfully zapped during their journey above the underwater canyon. Although it is true that jellies donʻt have stinging cells on their bells (the round bulb on top of their body), sea nettles can still sting without touching you — detached tentacles or even microscopic stinging cells in the water can still fire!
Jellyfish swarms, or blooms, occur when ocean conditions are just right (such as warm water, low currents, and high plankton availability) — the movie’s maze-like jelly scene reflects how overwhelming these blooms can be. Jelly blooms are becoming more common in some regions due to climate change, which alters ocean temperature and food webs, allowing jellyfish to thrive where other species may decline.
Fun Fact: Despite their venomous sting, sea nettles are prey for many ocean animals, like sunfish, sea turtles, and even some seabirds that pick at their oral arms!
Did you know? Jellyfish appear in the fossil record as far back as 650 million years - making them older than dinosaurs!
23. The fish School
Common Name: Silver schooling fish (some Disney sources say Silvery Moonfish or Lookdown Fish)
Scientific Name: Selene vomer (closest match)
Description: The silvery schooling fish are laterally flattened, shiny silver fish with vertical profiles. Moonfish and Lookdowns typically reach about 1–2 feet (30–60 cm) long, and form massive schools with hundreds to thousands of individuals.
Movie Accuracy:
While “fish school” isn’t a specific species, their appearance and schooling behavior are similar to many schooling fish species like lookdowns, jack or scad. They have laterally compressed, shiny bodies and big eyes, which is common in schooling baitfish.
Banding together in a school is their main defense against predators (safety in numbers). By coordinating their movements, the swirling shiny mass makes it difficult to target one fish. In the film, the fish school take coordination to a new level by doing synchronized swimming to form pictures! Real fish schools aren’t quite that artistic, but their tight formation moves are practically an art form of nature (just not deliberate shape-making).
Fish in schools use quick, almost instantaneous signals to swim in synchrony. Each fish has a sensitive sensory organ called a lateral line - which runs along their sides - to detect water movement, like a row of whiskers. Real fish might not give travel advice, but a sudden change in a school’s movement can indeed signal danger (like if they all dart away, something might be coming). The fish school all speaking together in unison anthropomorphizes this unity – a fun way to show they act as one entity.
24. The Seagulls
Common Name: Silver Gull
Scientific Name: Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
Description: Silver gulls are medium-sized seabirds with white heads and underbelly, gray wings, and bright red bills and feet. They grow to about 15–17 inches (38–43 cm) in length.
Movie Accuracy:
The seagulls’ depiction as relentless, food-hungry birds is played for comedy but isn’t far off in spirit. They are notorious scavengers; snatching food from humans, diving for scraps, and fighting each other over a tossed french fry. The gulls repeating “Mine! Mine! Mine!” hysterically captures that single-minded greed for food. In reality, their calls don’t literally sound like “mine,” but it sure feels that way when they are diving at your picnic!
Gulls often flock when there’s an opportunity. As soon as Marlin and Dory flop out of the pelican’s mouth onto the wharf, the gulls swarm en masse trying to get them. This is typical seagull behavior – they have keen eyes and will converge quickly if one gull spots potential food. They’re adaptable and smart. Silver gulls in Sydney, Australia are known to snatch bait from fishermen and steal chips from tourists! So a whole flock chasing two flopping fish (Marlin and Dory) is exactly what they’d do.
Seagulls thrive in coastal areas, but also urban environments. Sydney’s gulls are accustomed to people and boats, which is why they’re perched on dock posts and vessel masts - a classic gull hangout. Their natural diet includes fish, squid, and crabs, but they will also forage for human food scraps and garbage – pretty much anything edible (or not so edible …). The inclusion of urbanized gulls in Finding Nemo is Pixar’s not-so-subtle nod to the impact of human development on wildlife.
Conclusion:
Finding Nemo brought a menagerie of marine life to our screens, blending fact and fiction in a way that made us fall in love with the ocean and it’s creatures! The Disney-Pixar team’s research paid off in the authentic details. Of course, the film also gave these animals human voices, humor, and heart, which is why we remember them so fondly. In real life, these creatures don’t talk, joke or cry … but they each have incredible adaptations and roles in their ecosystems that are as fascinating as any Disney story.
The next time you rewatch Finding Nemo, you’ll be able to appreciate how much real-life marine biology is hidden in Pixar’s magical underwater world.
As Dory says, “Just keep swimming!”
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