Welcome to the article I had the hardest time categorizing! Bricklink has it easy, say “Animals, water” and you’re done. At first, I decided to do that. Something felt off, though. My interest in animals isn’t limited to LEGO ones, so calling some of them water animals didn’t feel right. I mean it’s okay for sharks, dolphins, octopi, and so on. They don’t live for long out of the water, so they can be counted as water animals. But what about alligators? Seals? Thankfully, there aren’t many of these made into LEGO figures, so I was able to overlook it.
However, there’s one I simply refuse to add here. I already talked about it in my rabbits and other small mammals article. Sea and river otters. Yes, I realize they even have a watery name, but I will not call them water animals. Sorry not sorry. Same goes for the beaver, too.
DUPLO water animals are included as well. While I usually don’t include brick-built animals, we have a special brick-built guest this time. Like the others in the series, this article will be updated as new animals are released.
The name of the colors used here are the Bricklink colors. To see a better image of the color, please visit this link, search for the color, and click on its name to go to Rylie Howerter’s Flickr page.
Ready? Let’s begin, then.
LEGO Shark Figures
LEGO water animals start with a shark in 1989. The first sets it appears in are from the Pirates theme. Even though they can be found in a few more themes, they remain mostly in Pirates. It’s possible to find them between 1989-2011, in 36 sets, in dark gray, white and dark bluish gray.
The shark figures we see in LEGO sets today are modified versions of this first shark. In 2010, the nose is rounded. In 2013, the “C” shape of the tail is made more realistic and gills are added to the mould. The same year, eyes become prints instead of being debossed. As far as I understand, that’s the final design for the LEGO shark, still used today. Although we see them with different colors and prints from time to time, they all use the same mould. You can see the changes below, along with all the sharks released this size.
The sharks using the most recent mould are in white, light bluish gray, dark bluish gray and sand blue. The transition moulds without eye printing are in dark bluish gray and white.
We get our first big shark in 2008. Its body is larger than the first ones, and both the space in its mouth and body are wider. So much so that it can swallow a minifigure whole and continue its day. There are four sharks using this mould, three of them in light bluish gray, their only difference is their printing. The fourth one is in flat silver and pearl dark gray; Sharkanator from the Ultra Agents theme.
The shark from 2017 has the most detailed design, in my opinion. It comes with the Silent Mary set from The Pirates of the Caribbean theme. It has a large body like the ones above, but given its details, I think it’s safe to say it’s not among the living anymore.
We get a hammerhead in 2020. It’s made in sand blue, and uses the most recent shark’s body with a different head. A light bluish gray one follows in 2023.
LEGO Alligator Figures
Alligators join the family in 1994. The first alligator is released between 1994-2014, in 25 sets, using dark gray, green and dark green. Like many of the first animal figures (like parrots, monkeys and sharks), their eyes are not printed but debossed.
The mould gets renewed in 2015. Now there are more teeth, but the pointier details on the back are rounded. This is the most recent alligator mould. It can be found in dark green, tan and green and in 13 sets. An olive green version joins in summer 2024.
I got curious, and decided to test if the head pieces are compatible with the bodies. It was easy to mount the new head on the old body, but I wasn’t able to do the same for the old head. Honestly, I didn’t want to push my luck, I really like the old designs. It looks weird since the number of teeth is different, but possible.
An alligator baby comes in 2021 with the Marvel CMF series. It represents Alligator Loki from the Loki series and has a green color. We see the same baby alligator in City Missions sets in 2022, this time in lime. A sand green joins in 2024.
LEGO Octopus Figures
The octopi start showing up in 1995, can be found in 22 sets in black and dark red until 2018. Their material is softer and more flexible. There are studs where they eyes should be, so it’s possible to attach a 1×1 tile or plate. Even without that, the eyes look good. In 2008, a marbled octopus with a trans-light blue and glow in dark opaque color combination is released. It comes with one set, and almost as pricy as the first goat.
We don’t get these octopi in sets after 2018. However, there’s another octopus I’d like to mention, one Bricklink doesn’t list as an animal. Like the old butterflies, it comes with an accessory pack in Friends sets. There are two seahorses, two horn snail shells, two fish, two small and one big clam, and two starfish accompanying it. These packs can be found in coral, bright light orange and yellow.
LEGO Dolphin Figures
The dolphins are from 1995 as well. The first dolphin is listed as four different types in Bricklink: Normal connection, normal connection (undetermined type), normal connection and axle holder, and abnormal connection. Their only difference is the connection part below. This dolphin shows up in 11 sets until 1999, in light gray, white and trans-light blue.
In 2013, a new dolphin arrives with – wait for it – Friends sets. It appears in 20 sets in bright light blue, sand blue, medium lavender and dark blue. There’s also a light bluish gray one joining the family in 2024.
The System dolphin comes out in 2017. When you look at their images separately, they look almost the same. I even got excited when I was writing this article, to see they use the same animal. Then I realized their mould IDs are different. Then I saw the hole on top of the Friends dolphin. I thought “Well, all Friends animals have that, so that’s what the difference is”. It wasn’t. Their differences (yes, multiple) can be seen very clearly in the image below.
At the moment, this dolphin appears in five sets in three colors: Light bluish gray, sand blue and medium blue.
In 2019, the dolphins join the baby animals trend. The first one is in light aqua, followed by coral, yellow, yellowish green and lavender. They were last seen in 2023.
Large Water Animals
There aren’t many of these, so I thought I’d mention them all together.
Continuing by the year they are first released in, the first large water animals are the sawfish and the manta ray. The sawfish appears in 1997-2010 in 10 sets; in light gray, dark bluish gray and black. It uses the exact same body mould as the first shark, so it’s possible to exchange their heads. It’s renewed in 2015, again using the same body mould as the newest shark. It appears in only four sets between 2015-2020, only in dark bluish gray.
We can find the manta ray in 9 sets released between 1997-1999. It’s only released in black. It’s renewed in 2020 and can be found in 7 sets in dark tan, light aqua and sand blue.
A bright pink whale comes with the Friends sets in 2020. It’s primarily designed as a narwhal, but can be used as a baby whale without the horn. We see the same mould in white in 2023, this time without a horn. Both can be found in one set each.
A brand-new animal arrives in 2023 with a brand-new mould: An orca! It can only be found in one set so far. Even though it’s the largest of the water animals, its mouth isn’t big enough to swallow a minifigure.
Small Water Animals
These, too, aren’t many. Since we have the large ones, we might as well have small ones.
There are four small water animals released in 1998: A clam, a fish, a crab and a starfish. While they are small in size, they have a wide range of colors. Sometimes they are used as animals, sometimes as decorations.
The clam shows up in 28 sets between 1998-2005. It comes in white, red, medium orange, bright light orange and light green. Some small changes are made in 2014 and this becomes the most recent mould. It can be found in 22 sets, but only in white.
The fish isn’t the fish we know today. Released in 11 sets between 1998-2011, it’s usually used as a decoration. It comes in light gray, medium orange, trans-orange, trans-dark pink and pearl gold.
The crab remains unchanged since day one, and can still be found in sets. Showing up in a total of 108 sets, it comes in dark red, red, tan, orange, bright light orange, medium lavender and flat silver. Since I know it’s been used in models as part of the build, here’s a few more details. There’s a stud on top, an anti-stud at the bottom. Its clamps can hold anything a minifigure can.
The starfish comes in 14 sets, in orange, medium orange, trans-neon yellow, trans-yellow, trans-neon green and trans-purple. It’s last seen in 2015.
A huge seahorse appears in a Belville set in 2005. It’s trans-light bright green colored, and is never seen again after that set. A smaller seahorse arrives with the 2020 Friends sets. You can find it in three sets, in lavender, coral, yellow and yellowish green.
The fish we see in various sets today is released in 2009. It appears in a total of 256 sets, most probably setting a record among animals. Eleven colors are released so far; black, red, orange, yellowish green, sand green, medium azure, bright light blue, magenta, pearl light gray, flat silver and glow in dark white.
The family grows with the addition of a lobster in 2017. This red lobster is so cute, you feel sorry when Batman eats it :) It appears in six sets, last seen in 2019.
We get two anglerfish in 2020 and 2021. Using the same mould, one has a glow in dark white body with lime eyes, teeth and fins, the other has a pearl dark gray body with white insides. Both can be found in two sets.
A teeny tiny hermit crab joins the family in 2021. Having a white shell and an orange body, it only appears in two sets.
LEGO Turtle Figures
We get our first turtle with the Friends sets in 2013. It starts its journey in lime, moves on to lavender, light aqua, bright light yellow, bright pink, dark purple, reddish copper and yellowish green in the following years. It appears in 19 sets.
A baby turtle comes along in 2019. It’s possible to find it in yellowish green, coral, lavender, yellow and bright light orange, in 12 sets.
With the CMF 20 series from 2020, we finally get a System turtle. Its shell is medium nougat, its body olive green. Two other colors are released in 2021 and 2023; tan body with dark red shell and bright green body with medium nougat shell. The bright green turtle is accompanied by its mother, using the same colors. All these turtles appear in one set each.
LEGO Seal Figures
Of course, they first appear in Friends sets. Six different colors are released in six sets between 2014-2020; reddish brown, sand blue, coral, lavender, yellow and yellowish green.
The System seals arrive in 2023. A small and very affordable set includes a mom and a pup. The mom is light bluish gray, the pup is white.
Special Characters
Ariel’s (The Little Mermaid) friends Flounder and Sebastian fall under this category. Flounder can be found in 11 sets between 2014-2023, with two different colors (yellow and white) and three different prints. Sebastian is red, can be found in 7 sets between 2015-2022, with two different prints.
DUPLO Fish Figures
Our first DUPLO water animal is a fish. Released in 1989 in yellow, it can be found in three sets designed for toddlers. I think it’s too bulky, even for DUPLO, but acceptable considering its release year.
A new fish arrives in 2001. It has three colors, yellow, pearl light gray and flat silver. It shows up in 15 sets until 2013.
The mould changes in 2014. It appears in 12 sets between 2014-2018, in flat silver. Our most recent fish comes out in 2019. It represents a specific fish, unlike its predecessors. This orange colored butterfly fish appears in four sets until 2022.
DUPLO Seal Figures
Our first seal is from 1990. It’s released in black, re-released in light gray with dark gray spots in 1995. The mould changes In 2009, and the color is now dark brown. It’s possible to find the black seal in 7, light gray in 6, and dark brown in 4 sets.
DUPLO Alligator Figures
We have three different colored alligators released in four different moulds. The first one’s from 1990. This green colored alligator shows up in 19 sets until 2004.
The alligator released in 2005 can open its mouth. This one’s green, too, appearing in 5 sets until 2009.
The one from 2007 can open its mouth as well, but you can also remove the upper head. It appears in 9 sets until 2020, in green. There’s also a bright green version, coming with Jake and the Never Land Pirates sets.
Our newest alligator is a baby. It comes with two sets in 2022, and is lime colored.
Below, you can see the third, the second and the first alligators from left to right.
DUPLO Orca, Dolphin and Whale Figures
We get an adult and a baby orca in 1995, and continue to show up in sets until 2012. The adult can be found in 11 sets, the baby in 14.
I was surprised to see there’s only one DUPLO dolphin. Besides its name, there isn’t much that says it’s a dolphin figure. Released with just one set in 2002, it’s listed as dolphin/orca and has a trans-light blue color. Its mould looks the same as the baby orca.
We have an adult and a baby whale, too. I have to admit, I love them both. If I tell you the story of how I got them, we’ll never see the end of this article. Anyways, back to the subject. Both whales use the color combination of light bluish gray and white. The adult can be found in 5 sets between 2016-2022, the baby in 4 sets between 2019-2022. The adult can open its mouth and the insides are big enough to hold the baby!
LEGO DUPLO Shark Figure
We only have one DUPLO shark, but it’s more than enough! It’s released in 2006 and uses a sand blue-white color combination. It looks really scary when it opens its mouth – so much that it would be perfect for the very recent Jaws set :)
DUPLO Turtle and Tortoise Figures
The DUPLO tortoise is one of a kind, there hasn’t been a minifigure-scaled one yet (fingers crossed). It has a green shell and lime body. Released in 2009, it appeared in 11 sets until 2022. In 2022 the turtle comes into stage. It’s also lime-colored, with dark orange spots on its shell, and comes with two sets so far.
DUPLO Special Characters
It’s possible to find Ariel’s friends as DUPLO figures as well. We get our first Flounder in 2013. It has a yellow body with a dark azure dorsal fin, along with dark azure printing. It can be found in two sets, last seen in 2020. Sebastian is newer, released in 2024. It’s red and can be found in only one set so far.
That’s it for our water animals. Let’s have a few comparison images as well.
Guests
There are two animals I wanted to include here. One of them is custom-made, not an official LEGO figure. It’s the Loch Ness monster Nessie, made by Crazy Bricks. The other is a brick-built animal, which I don’t usually include in these articles. Even though I don’t like the real-life version, I think the LEGO figure looks really well: A jellyfish that comes with a summer 2024 Friends set.
Let me know if there’s any I missed. See you in the next article!
Image Sources
When I couldn’t find the images I was looking for on Bricklink, Brickset, Brickowl, and Rebrickable, I went to Brick Fanatics, ATLBrick, Heartlake Times, Jay’s Brick Blog, Brick Architect, BrickNerd, Brothers Brick, Decotoys, Steinpalast, Brickshelf and eBay.
I’d like to thank Yiğit for volunteering to help in some of the more dangerous scenes. No minifigures were harmed during shooting.
Some girls play with Barbie dolls, while others create small worlds with LEGO minifigures and continue to do so when they grow up. You can probably guess which group I belong to :)
