This is a list of types of organisms that have appeared in SpongeBob SquarePants. This list includes organisms in the Animal Kingdom and organisms in the Protista Kingdom, as within the show protists tend to act as animals. Most of the show's characters are based on real-life sea creatures, but only a few of the characters' exact species or scientific names have been revealed.
The following is a list of species, sorted by higher classifications.
SpongeBob SquarePants and his family are sea sponges. In real life, sea sponges cannot walk or swim on their own, so they eat by filter-feeding (straining the surrounding water for nutrient particles). Many sea sponges reproduce by "budding," which is when a portion of the sponge breaks off and becomes a complete animal.
There are many species of sea snails in real life. In the series, the sea snail is the underwater equivalent to a cat. The most notable is Gary the Snail. Others include Snellie the Snail, Annette, and a variety of one-time characters.
"Whelk Attack" features whelks, a type of sea snail, as big ravenous beasts. They later turn out to be small and friendly after SpongeBob helps cure them of a disease.
Sea slugs appear many times in the series, with varying intelligence and number of limbs. They tend to be depicted with eyestalks, despite real sea slugs lacking them.
In the series, clams take the place of animals such as wolves, as they are sometimes shown howling ("Texas") and attacking people ("Tea at the Treedome"). The most notable clam is the giant clam Old Bluelip from the episode "Clams."
Scallops are depicted as the underwater equivalent to birds. They resemble clams but are much smaller in size. Shelley, SpongeBob's pet scallop, appears throughout the show in his bedroom. Another notable scallop is Junior from "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve." Other scallops who have appeared are Mr. Krabs' former pet scallop, the chocolate-eating scallops from "Valentine's Day," the scallops whom SpongeBob kills in "To Love a Patty," and the scallops from "One Krabs Trash."
Clamu is a notable pearl oyster who performs at the Bikini Bottom Zoo, as shown in "The Smoking Peanut." Oysters can also sometimes be used as food, such as in "Squidville," where Patrick is mentioned to have eaten fried oyster skins.
Octopuses are an order of cephalopods. Squidward, one of the main characters, is an octopus. The octopus is closely related to the squid, which (unlike Squidward) has a cone-shaped head with fins on each side, and has ten limbs. The character was named "Squidward" instead of "Octoward" because the second name "just didn't work," according to Rodger Bumpass.[citation needed]
Squids are another order of cephalopods. The most notable examples are Incidental 11, a common background character, and Squidina. Some squids, in addition to octopuses, appear in the episode "Cephalopod Lodge" because they are cephalopods. Another squid appears in "Jailbreak!" as one of Plankton's inmates. Squidina Star appears as a main character in The Patrick Star Show.
An unnamed cuttlefish appears in "Cephalopod Lodge" and "Smoothe Jazz at Bikini Bottom." He resembles Squidward, but with green skin and a larger head and nose.
Ammonites are a group of extinct marine mollusks. They are shown in the series appear in the episodes "SB-129" and "Ugh," during the prehistoric parts of those episodes.
Vampire squids are a species of cephalopod that live in the deep ocean. The only one that appears in the series is Squidabeth, who appears in "The Night Patty." Squidabeth resembles Squidward, but is a brighter shade of blue, and has vampire squid tentacles in place of legs. Another vampire squid appears in a movie in "Movie Stars."
Every species under this section is related by Class.
Crab
This is the species that most of the Krabs family is. The only members who are not are Pearl Krabs and Princess Pearl Krabs. Mr. Krabs is the most notable of the crabs in the Krabs family.
Kiwa hirsuta (also known as the yeti crab) is a crustacean discovered in 2005 in the South Pacific Ocean. One appears as the titular character of "Yeti Krabs." Another one also appears in "Shopping List."
A shrimp makes a brief appearance in "The Algae's Always Greener" and various season 13 episodes. There is also a villain based on the species called Jumbo Shrimp. Two mantis shrimp appear in "The Fun Bucket" in an arcade game.
In "BlackJack," krill are described as vermin, with Harold SquarePants saying, "The only crime that ever happened at our house was the infestation of those worthless krill."
Prehistoric arthropods that are now extinct. They appear in "SB-129" and in the opening credits of "Ugh." Squidward calls a music rental clerk one in "Band Geeks."
Barnacles are a species of crustaceans that appears throughout the series. In the episode "Barnacle Face" the barnacles are depicted as the whale equivalent to acne. Multiple barnacles are seen living on SpongeBob's house in "Unreal Estate." The name of the species is commonly used by the characters as an interjection ("Barnacles!"). This species is also the namesake of Barnacle Boy, named after his ability to spit out barnacles in "Mermaid Man Begins." Patrick is described as "living like a barnacle" in "Truth or Square."
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is a type of parasitic ciliate that affects fish. Within the show, the parasite is referred to as a fungus called the Ick , but it is most similar to this protist. The Ick is seen in the episode "Fungus Among Us."
This class contains most of Patrick's family. The most notable is Patrick Star. The only other sea stars that have appeared in the series besides the sea stars in Patrick's family are Janet and Marty from "I'm with Stupid," the sea star who mistakenly crowned Patrick king of Bikini Bottom in "Rule of Dumb," a few sea stars at Shell City in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and Patrick Not-Star from Hide and Then What Happens?.
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Hagfish
Madame Hagfish is a notable member of this species, first appearing in "The Curse of the Hex." Technically, it is a family, but it is the only one in its order and its class. In "The Patrick Show Sells Out," Patrick announces a skit on fashion tips for hagfish.
Numerous leeches are briefly seen in "Prehibernation Week," along with a place called the Leech Farm which was only mentioned. An ancestor of Gary that was a leech appears in "Dunces and Dragons." Leeches also appear in a deleted scene in "Swamp Mates." A leech named Kissy appears in Two Pests in a Teapot.
Eels are an order of ray-finned fish. They occasionally appear in the series. This includes the brown eel that appears in "Your Shoe's Untied," and the golden eel in "The Curse of the Hex." They were mentioned in the episode "Sailor Mouth" when the game Eels and Escalators is played. Another eel appears in "Fun & Done!"
Mrs. Puff is one of the main characters of the series. She is a pufferfish: specifically a porcupinefish. The only other known pufferfish are her deceased husband, Mr. Puff, her ancestor Polene Puff, and an unnamed pufferfish at Shell City in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Anchovies, in the SpongeBob universe, are known for making sounds like "meep," though can speak English as well. They are notorious around the Krusty Krab for gathering in large schools for food, nearly destroying the restaurant in the pilot episode. Some Incidentals such as incidental 115 and incidental 30 are also anchovies. In Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, all the anchovies live together in the Barge cabin.
The only manta rays that appears in the franchise is Stan the Manta, who appears in the book UFO!. While a black manta ray showed up physically in Shell City in the film, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie".
Contrary to real-life standards, the lionfish is depicted as a fish with a lion's head and claws. One appears in "Spongicus," set to attack Patrick who has sausages around his neck, but ends up attacking Plankton instead.
Seahorses are a genus of fish. They are depicted as the equivalent of actual horses on the surface. The most notable is Mystery the Seahorse, who first appears in the episode "My Pretty Seahorse." Seahorses are mainly green in the series, but in "Neptune's Spatula" the seahorses are purple with a more spiked appearance, and in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie the seahorses have a pink and orange color. Various colors of seahorse appear in "Nitwit Neighborhood News."
Puffy Fluffs resemble small cute fish, which can evolve into huge, monstrous and dangerous creatures when in the prescience of other pets which they hate, Puffy Fluffy being a notorious example.
Jellyfish are a subphylum. In the show, they are commonly known to represent bees, due to their stings and jelly. There are known to be Queen Jellyfish just like bees, however there are King Jellyfish as well. The species are involved in the practice of jellyfishing. While pink is the most common color of a jellyfish, they can come in different physical appearances and species.
Corals are most often portrayed in the backgrounds or as objects in the series, and are also shown in the names of locations such as Kamp Koral and Scorched Coral. Coral is sometimes shown to be food, which can be seen with Canned Coral and coral bits. Coral is also often portrayed as the underwater equivalent to plants, such as Squidward's coral tree. In the game Coral Climb, the gameplay involves SpongeBob having to jump on coral springs.
While no walrus character appears in the show, Mr. Krabs wins two walrus toys (revealed near the end to be fish skeletons) in "Company Picnic."
Whale
The series features a sperm whale, Pearl, as one of the main characters. Various other sperm whales have appeared on the show, with their designs based on Pearl's, as well as other types of whales.
A live-action giraffe appears in "Krusty Krab Training Video," when the narrator asks for a graph. It is also mentioned in "Bubblestand" when Patrick mistakes an elephant for it.
Roger is a chick that hatches at the end of the episode "New Student Starfish." Also, in the episode "Lost and Found," a chicken flies over SpongeBob's head when he dances with a doll.
The most notable bird in the series is Potty the Parrot, the co-host of the specials. Additionally, a painted parrot usually appears alongside Painty in the opening theme.
A pelican character Stephen Hillenburg originally planned for the show.
Pelicans appear sporadically throughout the franchise. In Stephen Hillenburg's original pitch bible for SpongeBob, a pelican and an elephant seal were planned to be host characters. In The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, a pod of pelicans is seen at Pelican Island.
The only sea turtles that appear in the series are Tony, his two lady turtle friends from the episode "Shell Games," and Monster Island. They also appear prominently in the online game "Kash Krab."
The only Tylosaurus that appears is the one in "Lost and Found." It lives in the "Lost World," which is in the Krusty Krab's Lost and Found.
Tyrannosaurus rex
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The only Tyrannosaurus rex that appears is the one at the end of "Ugh." It is the only species in its genus and its tribe.
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