Sea Creatures

Marine algae blooms like these in the northern Ross Sea are often vast enough to be visible from space.

Who Owns Antarctica's Pristine Oceans?

How humans finally stopped squabbling and protected one of the world's most pristine marine areas

The new sea turtle tanks have one-way glass to minimize visitor impact on the animals.

A State-of-the-Art Sea Turtle Hospital Welcomes Patients and Visitors in South Carolina

The South Carolina Aquarium invites tourists to visit their reptilian patients, watch surgeries and even conduct mock operations using VR

New Drone Footage Shows One Way Narwhals Use Their Tusks

The narwhals were observed using their signature appendages to hit and stun prey

Seahorses are valued for their use in traditional medicine.

The Secret Massacre of Millions of Seahorses

Millions of seahorses meet their doom each year as by-catch in a fisherman’s net. Less-charming fish may share the same fate

Researchers Spot Giant, Deep-Sea Octopus Munching on an Unusual Snack

The cephalopod was chowing down on a jellyfish—long thought unimportant in the food web

Smithsonian researchers found that otters that use tools aren't closely related.

Unlike Dolphins, Sea Otters That Use Tools Are Not Closely Related

Rock-bashing in otters is a very old behavior

Omsin ingested the coins during years in a public turtle pond.

The Sea Turtle That Ate 915 Coins Has Died

Her death comes two weeks after vets tried to save her life with a seven-hour surgery

Researchers have documented more than 4,000 fossils on clifftop beds accessible to the public.

Darwin Would Have Loved the Cliffs of Newfoundland, Where 500-Million-Years-Old Fossils Reside

Step back in time half a billion years to a world of mysterious sea creatures that would have thrilled Darwin

Watch a Male Seahorse Give Birth to Hundreds of Babies

Male seahorses are the ones who carry children and give birth. And when they do, they can produce up to 2,000 babies at one time

The Ryuguji temple

How 13th-Century “Mermaid Bones” Came to Be Displayed in a Japanese Temple

According to legend, the ningyo washed ashore on the Japanese island of Kyushu in 1222

A bobtail squid is imaged by the Deep Discoverer remotely operated vehicle during Dive 07 in Atlantis Canyon. The squid is less than one foot in length.

Surprising Levels of Pollution Found in the Depths of the Mariana Trench

Even deep-sea creatures can't escape pollutants

The cockeyed squid keeps one eye to the sky and another peeled to the darkness below.

Why This Squid Has One Giant and One Tiny Eye

The creature’s mismatched eyes help it survive in the ocean depths

The Hagfish Is the Slimy Sea Creature of Your Nightmares

The hagfish is a slime-emitting ocean-dweller that's remained unchanged for 300 million years--and it shows. It has a skull (but no spine)

A Coconut Octopus Uses Tools to Snatch a Crab

Coconut octopuses are among the most intelligent invertebrates around: They use tools, carry their shelters around for when they need them

An artist's recreation of what the ancient creature looked like.

Bag-Like, Big-Mouthed Sea Creature Could Be Earliest Human Ancestor

This minute wriggly sea blob could represent some of the earliest steps along the path of evolution

A ruby seadragon, Phyllopteryx dewysea that washed up on the Point Culver cliffs in Western Australia.

Watch the First Footage of the Rare Ruby Seadragon Alive in the Wild

The sneaky critter has never been seen in its natural habitat before

Warming Oceans Could Make These Seafood Favorites Toxic

New study links rising temperatures to dangerous toxins

Because Cystisoma live far from shore, scientists have just begun to study them in their natural habitat.

The Master of Disguise of the Ocean Reveals Its Secrets

A marine creature’s unusual defense is becoming perfectly clear

Ocean Legacy has a task not even Sisyphean would envy: picking up, sorting and recycling the vast amount of plastic that ends up on our shores.

Turning Ocean Garbage Into Gold

From the common plastic water bottle to the shoes of tsunami victims, one recycling organization tries to find a home for all ocean refuse

Leah Desrochers, a former employee of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, holds a stranded Kemp's ridley sea turtle.

Why Are Endangered Sea Turtles Showing Up Cold and Seemingly Lifeless on Northeastern Shores?

In the past three decades, scientists have confronted a worsening epidemic of stranded Kemp's ridley sea turtles

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