Articles tagged as Fish | Smithsonian Magazine

Age of Humans

Ginormous Goldfish Are Invading Australian Rivers

Abandoned by their owners, the fish run rampant and impact the environment

August 18, 2016

A nesting male with a female in his nest.

New Research

Give it Up, Sneaky Males: These Lady Fish Have You Outwitted

Female ocellated wrasses have developed a surprising trick to control who fathers their offspring

August 16, 2016

How to Visit the Florida Keys Like a NASA Aquanaut

To prepare for space, astronauts spend some time under the sea

August 3, 2016

A brittle star swimming over a field of polymetallic nodules

Journey to the Center of Earth

Future Deep Sea Mining Sites Are Bursting With Rare Marine Species

The area is full of rare metals, but a new study shows it’s a hub for deep-sea diversity, too

August 2, 2016

Named for photographer Barry Brown, meet the newly discovered scorpionfish Scorpaenodes barrybrowni.

On a Deep Dive in a Custom-Built Submarine, a New Species of Scorpionfish Is Discovered

A Smithsonian scientist dives deep to a coral reef and finds much to discover

August 1, 2016

These Sleek, Sexy Cars Were All Inspired By Fish

You’ve heard about the Stingray, but what about the Bionic Boxfish?

July 29, 2016

New Research

Self-Lubricating Swordfish Secrete Oil to Swim Faster

Greased lightning, go greased lightning

July 11, 2016

A mudskipper clings to a rocky embankment.

Awkward Robots Show How Tails Propelled First Land Walkers to New Heights

A 3D-printed bot designed to move like amphibious fish suggests that the first land animals needed tails to climb slippery slopes

July 7, 2016

A recent survey shows that the fish have colonized Cyprus and may continue to spread

June 29, 2016

Alewives returning to spawn in Wynants Kill

Cool Finds

Herring Spawn in Hudson River Tributary for the First Time in 85 Years

River herring are spawning in Wynants Kill tributary after one of the many dams along the Hudson was removed

June 14, 2016

New Research

This Tropical Fish Can Be Taught to Recognize Human Faces

New study trained fish to spit at human faces

June 8, 2016

A preserved specimen of the Blue Lanternfish with bioluminescent spots. New research shows that the blue lanternfish's glow isn't that unique - among ocean-dwelling fish, four out of five are bioluminescent.

Way More Fish Can Make Their Own Light Than We Thought

Bioluminescence evolved a whopping 27 separate times among finned fishes living in the open ocean

June 8, 2016

Larval perch with a stomach full of microplastic

New Research

Baby Fish Prefer Plastic Over Natural Food

Larval perch gorge themselves on microplastics, which seems to be stunting growth and affecting natural instincts

June 6, 2016

These comical looking mollusks are common to the Caribbean. Their eyes poke out on stalks from inside large, pink, beautiful shells, and they move along one “step” at a time, with a lift and a flop, leaving tracks behind in the sand.

An Elegant Tool Called Squidpop That Scientists Want to Crowdsource

The device is so easy to use, researchers are asking for a “squidpop blitz” for World Oceans Day

June 3, 2016

The Pacific blue tang is the inspiration for the hero of PIxar's upcoming movie, "Finding Dory."

Nemo and Dory make for problematic pets

May 20, 2016

A lamprey in a tank at the Aquarium Restaurant Atalaya in Spain.

Cool Finds

It’s Lamprey Breeding Time in Britain

The bloodsucking fish are returning rivers that were once too polluted for them to live in

May 18, 2016

Warm waters have turned the country’s once-pristine coast into a putrid sight

May 4, 2016

Important information about a cheetah can be found in its feces.

A Fecal Pellet’s Worth A Thousand Words

Scientists can learn a surprising amount about an animal just by analyzing its poop

May 4, 2016

New Research

Eating Toxic Algae Might Make Some Plankton Act Drunk

Though it may seem funny, it could have serious environmental consequences

April 29, 2016

Weird Animals

Audubon Pranked Fellow Naturalist by Making Up Fake Rodents

Annoyed with naturalist and houseguest Constantine Rafinesque, John J. Audubon dreamed up 28 non-existent species

April 27, 2016