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Sea Creatures

A dumbo octopus, "showing off."

See Rare Footage of the Elusive, Ethereal Dumbo Octopus

A team of researchers spotted the creature thousands of feet below sea level with the help of a remotely operated vehicle

The "headless chicken monster," a.k.a. Enypniastes eximia.

A Rare Sighting of the ‘Headless Chicken Monster’ of the Sea

The strange sea cucumber, spotted in the Southern Ocean, has only been captured on video once before

New Research

A Case of Mistaken Sea Monster Identity

Re-analysis of Kansas fossils show they come from a newborn Tylosaurus, which were born without their tell-tale toothy snouts

A blue whale, the largest known creature in Earth's history, dives into the St. Lawrence river in Quebec, Canada.

Today’s Whales Are Huge, But Why Aren’t They Huger?

Most giant cetaceans only got giant in the past 4.5 million years, suggesting they could have room to grow

An amphipod with its victim clamped on its back.

Kidnapper Crustaceans Use Tiny Mollusks as Unwitting Shields

Amphipods wear the so-called sea angels, which secrete chemicals that keep certain predators at bay, like backpacks

The remotely operated vehicle Hercules explores the hydrothermal vents of Lost City during a 2005 expedition.

Diving Deep to Reveal the Microbial Mysteries of Lost City

An expedition sets out this week to explore a field of hydrothermal vents in the deep Atlantic, one of the most extreme ecosystems on the planet

RangerBot is an autonomous underwater vehicle designed to identify and kill crown-of-thorns starfish by lethal injection.

Sea-Star Murdering Robots Are Deployed in the Great Barrier Reef

The RangerBot is a new line of defense against coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish

This pipefish couple may seem the picture of romance, but the male may have something bigger and better in mind.

Pregnant Male Pipefish Are the Sea’s Swaggery Swingers

Male pipefish, which take on the burden of carrying eggs to term, can compromise their own pregnancies if they see a “huge, sexy female” swimming by

How Hungry Baby Urchins Are Saving Hawaii’s Reefs

They helped eat through invasive algae that was suffocating corals in Kāne’ohe Bay

Stormy weather may have rained on these sea urchins' parade—and sealed their fate

See Shells of Sea Spuds on the Seashore

Hundreds of “sea potatoes”—actually the empty shells of a species of sea urchin—mysteriously washed up on Cornish beach last weekend

Bermuda

A Unique Enzyme Gives Bermuda Fireworms Their Glow

A new study reveals the secret to the invertebrates’ dazzling mating ritual

After Being Stolen in Baby Stroller, Miss Helen the Shark Is Back at San Antonio Aquarium

Two men and one woman are suspected of swiping Miss Helen in a planned heist

Closeup of a stomatopod crustacean

Why Mantis Shrimps, Not Sharks, Might Be the Most Amazing Predators in the Sea

The crustaceans have superpowers other animals can only dream of

A Clever Cuttlefish Goes in for the Kill

In a sandy gully, a school of razorfish are being stalked by an invisible predator and a master of disguise: the crafty cuttlefish

How Spawning Squid Offer a Buffet for Predators

During spawning season, calamari squid become vulnerable in the shallow waters. But they do have one weapon that helps improve their odds

The Remarkable Way Calamari Squid Catch Their Prey

They might be delicious to us but in the ocean, calamari squid are formidable predators, using concealed tentacles which shoot out toward any prey

Soft tumors make life hard for sea turtles.

Should We Share Human Cancer Treatments With Tumorous Turtles?

They may be key to saving wild sea turtles from tumors associated with turtle-specific herpes

Do Marine Mammals Yawn and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

River eels exposed to cocaine suffered muscle damage and other health effects.

Cocaine in the Water Is Hurting River Eels

When researchers exposed eels to the illicit drug, the animals became hyperactive and suffered muscle damage

Introducing a Hairy-Footed Shrimp Named After Bilbo Baggins

Like its hobbit namesake, Odontonia bagginsi is also quite small

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