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Oct 5 2012 - 10:01am
Glowing photophores are visible on a squid (Abralia veranyi) viewed from below at low light levels. We think of light as a way to see in the dark. But many species use it to help them hide. This adaptation is called counterillumination. Seen from below, an animal might stand out as a dark shape...
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Dec 5 2012 - 12:15pm
It may be the last place you’d expect to find corals—up to 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the ocean’s surface, where the water is icy cold and the light dim or absent. Yet believe it or not, lush coral gardens thrive here. In fact, scientists have discovered nearly as many species of deep-sea...
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Jan 10 2013 - 10:47am
Sharks have young in three different ways. After internal fertilization, some species lay a thick egg case that encloses the shark embryo (seen in the photo here). Most species are ovoviviparous, which means that the shark hatches and develops within the female shark and is born live. A third way (...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This jelly’s red color provides camouflage in the deep ocean. Red light rarely reaches those depths, and most deep-sea animals have lost the ability to see red. The long, complex tentacles of this unidentified comb jelly (Order Cydippia) have sticky cells that can snag prey, and then retract.
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Jan 31 2013 - 10:11am
This bait ball shows how small fish can react when larger predators are near by gathering tightly together in a ball-like formation that exposes the least number of fish. Fish species found in the open ocean are especially in need of some protection, as they don't have the cracks and crevices that...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
Rivulus fish live in bodies of water that sometimes become contaminated with hydrogen sulfide—an extremely toxic compound that smells like rotten eggs. When this happens, the adaptable fish wiggle into damp places like logs. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
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Sep 20 2011 - 3:42pm
Earth’s first animals had soft bodies. This illustration shows a community of soft-bodied Ediacaran (edi-A-karan) animals. Some species resemble living ocean creatures. Others are unlike any known organisms and cannot be classified. Scientists have found fossils of these fauna in sedimentary rocks...
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Jan 6 2011 - 3:09pm
Arctic cod have a special protein that keeps their blood from freezing in ice-cold Arctic waters.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
A male mudflat fiddler crab (Uca rapax) waves its huge claw to impress females and threaten male competitors. More about the animals and plants living in mangrove ecosystems can be found in the Mangroves section.
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Aug 18 2011 - 4:24pm
Bioluminescence is one of the more captivating adaptations that have evolved in marine animals. It's the ability of organisms to create and emit light. Dive underwater and you may witness lightshows of red, green, and blue. Chemical reactions release energy that produces the light. Many species use...
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Jan 4 2011 - 5:17pm
Hidden beneath Arctic ice is a world few have ever seen. Take the icy plunge with a team of ice-loving scientists.
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Dec 7 2009 - 11:10pm
This aptly named fish (Anoplogaster cornuta) has long, menacing fangs, but the adult fish is small, reaching only about 6 inches (17 cm) in length. It's teeth are the largest in the ocean in proportion to body size, and are so long that the fangtooth has an adaptation so that it can close its mouth...
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Aug 17 2011 - 3:25pm
Chapter 3: Fragile Fauna
Jelly Critters
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Life Science- Gelatinous zooplankton in the Canada Basin
Description: In this activity, students will be able to compare and contrast at least three different groups of organisms that are includ
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Sep 20 2011 - 4:20pm
The basic body plans of all modern animals were set during the Cambrian Period, 542 - 488 million years ago. Your friends, family, and pet turtle may not look much like the creatures here. But we and our fellow animals are heirs of these ancient ocean dwellers. Changes in Earth’s climate and ocean...
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Dec 12 2012 - 10:33am
This beautiful jewel squid (Histioteuthis bonnellii) can be found swimming above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at depths of 500-2,000 meters (1,640-6,562 feet). The “jewels” covering the body are bioluminescent photophores. But these squids can't bargain for their lives with those jewels: they have been...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This new species of lobster is blind—an adaptation to deep-sea life—and has very bizarre claws, or chelipeds. It was discovered about 300 meters (984 feet) deep in the Phillipine Sea by a Census of Marine Life expedition. Not only was this a new species, but it was placed in an entirely new genus...
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Apr 18 2013 - 10:35am
Like this ctenophore (Aulococtena acuminata), many animals that live in the midwater zone are red—making them almost invisible in the dim blue light that filters down from the sea surface. This small comb jelly snares prey with its two short tentacles.
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Jul 19 2012 - 9:14am
A huge colony of brittlestars (likely Ophiacantha rosea) covers the peak of a seamount in the deep ocean. What’s the attraction? Food! Their arms reach out for tiny food particles carried by the swift Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
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Jan 22 2013 - 10:53am
This tiny, shrimplike creature is no more than 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) long, but it’s as ferocious as a shark. Its giant eyes spot prey. Huge claws grab the prey, and a tiny mouth rips it to shreds. The prey never sees what’s coming, because Phronima’s transparent body blends into the surrounding...
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Dec 7 2011 - 4:12pm
Scientists know the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) moves slowly in the Arctic's cold water. They also know that parasites attack the shark's eyes. But much about this animal remains a mystery. Marine biologist Greg Skomal says that's because the Greenland shark spends most of the year...
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Dec 7 2009 - 11:04pm
This crab (Neolithodes sp.) was collected on a NOAA/MAR-ECO cruise to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the summer of 2009. Its red color provides camouflage and protection from predators. Red wavelengths are strongly absorbed by water, so red light does not normally reach the midwater ocean zone. Most...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Like many deep sea creatures, this tiny comb jelly (Bathocyroe fosteri) has a transparent body, enabling it to blend into the surrounding waters. This ctenophore is very common around the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. More about the deep ocean can be found in the Deep Ocean Exploration section.
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Oct 27 2010 - 1:56pm
Claws, spines, spikes, tentacles, and fangs. Aliens, monsters, and ghostly apparitions glowing in the night. Marine life forms have some of the best looks for Halloween—no costumes needed. From freaky fish lurking beneath the surface to creepy crawlies of the deep, meet some of the sea’s strangest...
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Dec 7 2009 - 11:09pm
This red octopod (Stauroteuthis syrtensis) shines in a novel way. Suckers stretching in a single row down each arm flash on and off. The glowing-sucker octopod drifts through deep waters off the eastern United States—down to 2,500 meters (8,200 feet)—and grows up to 50 cm (18 inches) long.
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