Q: Carnivorous plants of the oceans--any marine carnivores?
A: This is very easy to answer! None!
Marine environments are very challenging for vascular plants. While some oceanic
algae such as kelp can become very large, none are known to be carnivorous.
The ocean covers most of the world (albeit much of it is pelagic), so I carefully chose the phrasing "known to be
carnivorous." Will the answer be different in 2, 5, or 20 years, as science continues to reveal more to us about the
life on our
planet?
While to extremely salty waters of marine environments apparently preclude carnivorous plants,
the carnivorous bladderwort Utricularia benjaminiana can survive
in moderately brackish waters.
Lowland Nepenthes are sometimes found at the water's edge, but this is not the same as it being
a marine species.
By the same token, vast regions of carnivorous habitat in the southeastern USA are occasionally submerged by ocean water during
hurricanes.
Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; Taylor, P. 1989; personal observation.
