Sea Creatures

Lost Animals: Extinct, Endangered and Rediscovered Species by John Whitfield is just out from Smithsonian Books.

Ten Exquisite Creatures That Once Roamed the Earth

From Smithsonian Books, comes a magnificent tome to highlight evolution's greatest hits

One of the oldest living organisms on Earth is a colony of Neptune grass in this vast meadow of the plant in the Mediterranean Sea.

Why Seagrass Could Be the Ocean's Secret Weapon Against Climate Change

A vast, mostly invisible ecosystem crucial to our life on Earth is in trouble, but efforts to save the 'prairies of the sea' are finally coming into focus

Of the deep-water samples collected by this team, they identified 11 fish families, 11 genera and eight species. This fish, from the genus Leptochilichthys, was discovered at nearly 3,000 feet deep.

Scientists Collect Floating Bits of DNA to Study Deep Sea Creatures

Analyzing seawater samples reveals what critters lurk there—without having to see them

Hundreds of pilot whales are stranded on a sand bar on September 21, 2020 off the west coast of Tasmania.

Hundreds of Whales Die in Mass Stranding in Australia

Nearly 500 pilot whales were stranded off the coast of Tasmania last week, in what officials say is the largest mass stranding event in Australian history

Starlet anemone grow tentacle arms based on how much food they intake.

These Sea Anemones Grow Limbs When They Eat

The starlet sea anemone is the first known species to translate food into limbs

Southern elephant seals normally live in the South Atlantic, often as far south as Antarctica. These are young male Southern elephant seals from the South Shetland and Anvers islands, Antarctica.

What a 1,000-Year-Old Seal Skull Can Tell Us About Climate Change

In a new study, scientists explain how a seal native to the South Atlantic, but found in Indiana, likely swam to the middle of North America

"Maisy" a rare hybrid hawskbill-green sea turtle being released into the Atlantic in the Florida Keys. The turtle's satellite tracking tag will allow it to participate in a "race" put on by a sea turtle conservation group.

Rare Hybrid Hawksbill-Green Sea Turtle Released in Florida

The turtle will participate in an annual 'race' put on by a Florida-based sea turtle conservation group

This giant squid was stranded on Britannica Bay in southwest South Africa.

Rare Giant Squid Washes Onto Shores of South African Beach

At more than 13 feet long, the creature was probably just 2 years old, scientists say

An artist's reconstruction of Spinosaurus, showing a paddle-like tail that would have helped it swim.

Groundbreaking Fossil Suggests Spinosaurus Is First Known Swimming Dinosaur

Its paddle-like tail, unearthed in Morocco, suggests the Cretaceous carnivore ventured into the water to hunt

Researchers have discovered an unexpected way that larger bits of plastic are transformed into microplastics in the sea: lobsters. (The study involved Norway lobsters, pictured here.)

Norway Lobsters Crush Ocean Plastic Into Even Smaller Pieces—and That's Bad

The crustaceans' guts pulverize plastics into tiny bits that can be consumed by even smaller creatures at the base of the ocean food chain

Cricosaurus suevicus is an ancient relative of modern crocodiles that spent its life in the ocean.

Like Dolphins and Whales, Ancient Crocodiles Evolved to Spend Their Time at Sea

Researchers tracked changes in the crocodilian creatures’ inner ears to learn how they moved into the sea

A group of Humboldt squid swim in formation about 200 meters below the surface of Monterey Bay

Deep-Sea Squids Glow to Communicate in the Dark

Researchers suggest that the Humboldt squid uses bioluminescent backlighting for visual cues in the dark deep sea

An artist’s depiction of Gunakadeit joseeae

215-Million-Year-Old, Sharp-Nosed Sea Creature Was Among the Last of Its Kind

Researchers gave the marine reptile the genus name <u>G</u>unakadeit in honor of a sea monster from Tlingit oral history

Laboratory experiments suggest the tooth-like scales of the puffadder shyshark can be degraded by acidifying oceans

Acidifying Oceans Could Corrode the Tooth-Like Scales on Shark Skin

A laboratory experiment hints at another sobering consequence of acid-heavy ocean waters on marine life

An endangered White's seahorse.

Undersea 'Hotels' Deployed to Help Sydney's Endangered Seahorses

Captive breeding and microhabitats may help restore White's seahorse whose population plummeted 90 percent in the last decade

This turtle was rescued from Cape Cod's frigid waters in November.

Why Do ‘Cold-Shocked’ Sea Turtles Keep Washing Up Onto Cape Cod?

A new study pinpoints some of the factors that may lead to regular strandings of the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle

Although ammonoids died out around the same time as most dinosaurs, new computer models are revealing how these marine animals moved through the water.

Video Game-Inspired Models Demonstrate How Prehistoric Squid Relatives Swam Through the Seas

By simulating liquid flows around the shells of ammonoids, scientists study how these ancient animals moved

The sea urchins are causing havoc.

Voracious Purple Sea Urchins Are Ravaging Kelp Forests on the West Coast

The trouble started in 2013, when sea stars, an urchin predator, began to die off

Mother walruses like this one on a waterfront near Svalbard, Norway, are very protective of their young.

An Angry Walrus Mother Derailed a Russian Naval Expedition

The hulking marine mammal was likely trying to protect her calves

Too cute to be nameless.

Help the Shedd Aquarium Name Its Rescued Otter Pups

The aquarium hopes the contest will help raise awareness about southern sea otters’ ongoing conservation needs

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