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May 20 2012 - 1:03pm
A mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) holds her clutch of eggs in her clubbed claws. Usually these claws are weapons that punch hard-shelled prey at speeds of more than 50 miles an hour.
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Jul 27 2011 - 12:15pm
A sea lion in the Sea of Cortez observes Dr. Peter Auster as he observes reef fishes. Learn more about deep-sea coral reefs in our Deep-sea Corals article.
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Jun 21 2011 - 1:58pm
“Every four years, sockeyes come inland from the Pacific to spawn. The year 2010 was the largest run in 100 years, reaching more than 30 million fish. On this day, I waited for the right sunlight, then quietly slipped into the river. Fighting the rush of the current, I positioned myself in front of...
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Jun 18 2012 - 1:37pm
As an underwater photographer, time in the field is the most valuable thing I can be given. With time, I can usually overcome challenges and the problems that occur. Time also allows me to learn firsthand about the place in which I am working, what happens at different times of day and how animals...
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Jan 7 2013 - 10:06am
The shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) is found offshore in tropical and warm temperate waters of all oceans, but has been known to travel to cooler waters at times. It is very strong and the fastest known species of shark. These qualities make the shortfin mako a prized catch among...
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Sep 29 2011 - 2:03pm
For nearly 30 years, National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all around the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks,"...
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Feb 12 2013 - 11:10am
From Nature's Best Photography
Explore the winning photos from the 2012 Nature's Best Photography Ocean Views contest! You can also see the winners from 2011 and 2010.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
This photo of Kingman’s Reef in the Line Islands shows what a healthy coral reef should look like. The water is crystal clear. A variety of richly colored corals carpet the seabed. And a native predator, a red snapper, prowls for prey.
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May 30 2012 - 12:38pm
The open ocean is surprisingly barren to the naked eye. Every now and again you will encounter a school of fish and their attendant predators, but most of the life that you find is gathered around some sort of sheltering structure like a coral reef.
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Jun 21 2011 - 3:19pm
Thanks to a passionate group of fearless ocean photographers, you can stare-down a yellow-mouth moray eel, a sperm whale, and a harlequin shrimp. These are just three of the subjects in the 2011 Nature's Best Photography Ocean Views Contest. Like the animals they captured with their cameras, the...
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Aug 27 2012 - 11:52am
"I was photographing this beautiful school of jacks when a diver slowly approached from beneath. I shifted my position to capture the moment he entered the ball of fish. Seconds later, he was completely immersed in the school.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Steve De Neef
See a slideshow of...
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Jun 21 2011 - 12:28pm
“For the past few years I have visited the island of Dominica to enjoy its beauty both above and below the surface. This photo was taken during a lucky encounter with a member of the ‘group of 7’ pod. A very young calf measuring about 25 feet long came over and played with us for well over 45...
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Mar 5 2010 - 4:29pm
Manta rays are related to sharks, but have quite a different reputation among humans. They are often called the gentle giants of the sea because of their curious nature and graceful movements. This one glides up, as if to greet a diver in the blue water, near San Benedicto, Mexico.
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Dec 8 2009 - 4:08pm
See some of the remarkable adaptations that deep-sea animals have evolved. Learn more about their habitat and how marine scientists research it in our Deep Ocean Exploration section.
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Apr 26 2011 - 12:22pm
Laurie Penland is a professional photographer and the Diving Officer for the Smithsonian Institution.
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Sep 28 2012 - 10:35am
This bluefin trevally is lucky to call Hawaii’s Maro Coral Reef, part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, its home. Maro is the largest reef in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands and just one of the many marine ecosystems protected in the 140,000 square miles of...
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Dec 19 2011 - 3:07pm
A tiny yellow goby, Lubricogobius exiguus, living inside an abandoned can on the seafloor; Suruga Bay, Japan
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Jun 6 2012 - 1:29pm
I have been to this location many times, but no other photo has come out like this one composed with the sun behind a turtle’s head.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Pedro Carrillo.
See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo contest.
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Dec 19 2011 - 2:33pm
A Florida manatee, Trichechus manatus latirostris, swims down a narrow channel into a freshwater spring late in the day.
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Dec 19 2011 - 2:48pm
A coral hermit crab, Paguritta harmsi, about the size of two grains of rice, living in coral in the waters of Japan's Ogasawara Islands.
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Oct 18 2012 - 12:22pm
“A four-foot-long barracuda is visible flashing past me, with the sky and the lights of my boat seen above.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Yeang H. Ch’ng.
See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo contest.
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Mar 28 2013 - 9:45am
Gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are known for being active at night. They are considered Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List due to fishing and the loss of their coral reef habitat. The sinister animal, with its sleek body, can be quite aggressive when directly threatened.
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Jun 22 2012 - 10:13am
A blue cod and sea pens, a unique type of cnidarian, speckle the seafloor in New Zealand's Fiordland region.You can see more beautiful underwater photos from Brian Skerry in his image gallery.
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Dec 3 2012 - 6:02pm
easel.ly
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