Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Fish

While seaching for Ernest Shackleton's lost ship Endurance in 2019, researchers stumbled across clusters of indentations on the seafloor.

Researchers Found Hundreds of Mysterious Dimples on the Seafloor Near Antarctica. Now They Know What Creature Made Them

The indentations are nests of fish called yellowfin notie, and they are not randomly scattered—rather, they appear to have been arranged in distinct patterns

The orcas went after the juvenile great white sharks’ livers, which are rich in nutrients and high in calories. Here, an orca swims alongside a wounded shark.

Orcas in Mexico Have Learned to Attack Young Great White Sharks—by Flipping Them Upside Down and Eating Their Livers

Researchers captured the novel behavior on video in the Gulf of California, recording three separate takedowns across two hunts carried out by members of the Moctezuma pod

Gloria Acevedo, a diver with the Sirenas de Oriente in Mexico, removes a fishing line from coral near Cozumel Island.

‘Ghost Gear,’ or Abandoned Fishing Equipment, Is Haunting the Oceans. Here’s How Conservationists Are Fighting Back

Discarded nets, lines and traps are a hazard to marine life and ecosystems around the world, but pioneering programs are tackling the problem creatively through education, prevention, ocean cleanups and recycling

A close-up of a gum leaf skeletonizer caterpillar, also known as a "Mad Hatterpillar" because of its distinctive stacked head capsules, left behind with every molt. The photo won the invertebrate behavior category.

See 15 Wondrous Winning Images From the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards

The eye-catching wildlife photos highlight both the beauty and the harsh realities of nature

A gold mining operation in Peru

Study Finds High Levels of Mercury in Hair Samples From Indigenous Women in Peru and Nicaragua

Small-scale gold mining in the area releases mercury into the environment, where it can make its way into fish and, in turn, humans

A dusky shark swims in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Hadera, Israel, where dusky sharks and sandbar sharks tend to gather.

Why Do Sharks Go Into Feeding Frenzies? A Case Study of a Recent, Unusual Attack on a Human Looks for Answers

After multiple dusky sharks killed a swimmer off Israel’s coast this year, scientists investigated what might have triggered the attack in hopes of preventing similar incidents

New research suggests that the Salmon River in northwest Alaska is full of toxic metals.

Why Is This Remote and Rugged River in Alaska Turning Orange?

New research suggests the Salmon River is full of toxic metals that are likely harming fish and other aquatic creatures

A sea lamprey shows off its nightmarish mouth.

This Invasive Vampire Fish Is Helping Researchers Understand the Human Nervous System in Jaw-Dropping Ways

The sea lamprey looks like it’s from another planet, but this ancient creature has a surprising amount in common with humans

This event marks the first time the leopard shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) has been documented mating in the wild.

Rare Trio of Leopard Sharks Spotted Mating in the Wild for the First Time, and a Snorkeling Scientist Captured a Video

Conservationists say the unexpected observation could inform efforts to protect or reintroduce leopard sharks, an endangered species

According to new research, the Chicago River has become significantly cleaner and healthier in recent decades. 

Fish Are Spawning in the Chicago River, Another Sign the Once-Contaminated Waterway Is Rebounding

A new study suggests at least 24 species of fish are reproducing in the urban river, adding to the evidence that it is getting cleaner and healthier

Located nearly 60 feet below the surface, the statue is cleaned every year.

See How Divers Clean This Statue of Jesus Christ Submerged Nearly 60 Feet Below the Surface of the Mediterranean

Located off the coast of northern Italy, “Christ of the Abyss” was installed in 1954 to commemorate lives lost at sea. The statue receives a routine cleaning every year

A juvenile spotted ratfish. These deep-sea fish are named for their long, rat-like tails.

This Deep-Sea Fish Has Teeth on Its Forehead—and It Uses Them for Sex

Researchers suggest the rows of pointed structures on the heads of spotted ratfish are true teeth, offering the first known example of teeth located outside the jaw

The bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi) is one of three new deep-sea species described.

Cool Finds

Biologists Discover Surprisingly Cute Deep-Sea Fish Species Off the Coast of California

Meet the bumpy snailfish—described by scientists as “adorable”—as well as the dark snailfish and sleek snailfish, all of which thrive thousands of feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean

An artist's interpretation of what early penguins in New Zealand might have looked like

Early Penguins Had Long, Dagger-Like Beaks for Skewering Fish, New Zealand Fossils Reveal

Paleontologists describe four new species of extinct ancestral penguins that help shed light on how the iconic birds evolved after dinosaurs went extinct

Pygmy seahorses are exceptional camouflage artists.

These Bumpy Little Seahorses Are Amazing Camouflage Artists. Scientists Pinpoint the Gene Loss Behind Their Special Traits

Bargibant’s pygmy seahorses look almost exactly like the gorgonian corals they live in, thanks in part to their unusually stubby snouts

The only human development on Tetepare is a small research center and ecolodge on the western corner of the island, which is otherwise covered in lush rainforest and lined by coral reefs and meadows of seagrass.

Why Is Tetepare the South Pacific’s Largest Uninhabited Island?

Descendants of the island’s former inhabitants struggle to balance environmental conservation with sustaining their community’s livelihoods

Officials in Sartell, Minnesota, pulled the vehicle from the river on August 13.

Two Friends Went Fishing on the Mississippi River. Police Say They May Have Just Solved a 1967 Cold Case

Investigators pulled a 1960s Buick sedan from the waterway in central Minnesota that provides new details about a man’s disappearance more than 50 years ago

Mexican tetras lost their eyes in multiple ways.

These Cavefish Lost Their Eyes, but They Gained Some Pretty Nifty Traits

Mexican tetras that got swept into pitch-black caverns had no use for the energetically costly organs

Several species have evolved in response to human environmental impacts.

Five Astounding Ways Humans Are Driving Animal Evolution, Including Causing Lizards to Grow Longer Legs and Leading Moth Populations to Become Darker

When people build cities and introduce invasive creatures, resident critter populations sometimes adapt

Only a small fraction of the world’s fisheries—roughly 2 percent—are currently monitored by observers, meaning the vast majority of fishing activity, including the bycatch of protected species, happens without oversight.

Could Artificial Intelligence Make It Easier and Safer to Monitor Fisheries?

New A.I. analysis systems aim to count fish and identify species, streamlining the time-intensive process of recording commercial fishing activity

Page 2 of 36