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Ocean Portal by The Smithsonian Institution

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PHOTO Shortfin Mako Shark 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 a...MORE PHOTOS


	BLOG POST MORE STORIES Ray Bradbury and the Sea Today Ray Bradbury died. It might seem strange that I'm writing about Bradbury h...
	IMAGE GALLERY MORE GALLERIES Image Gallery: The Perfect Underwater Photo For nearly 35 years, National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry has been i...
	PHOTO MORE PHOTOS Bowl Glazed with Deep Ocean Sediments Massachusetts ceramics artist Joan Lederman glazes her work—including this bowl—...

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					Adélie Penguins Face Off Apr 15, 2013 - 10:25AMThese cute Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are actually having a bit of a spat. In the spring (October for them), the penguins form breeding colonies on rocky coasts with thousands of birds in a group. Krill, a tiny...

Harp Seal, Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada

Apr 3, 2013 - 9:04AM

Harp seals are protected in the United States by the Marine Mammal...

Grey Reef Shark, West New Britain, Father Reefs, Papua New Guinea

Mar 28, 2013 - 9:45AM

Gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are known for being active at...

SPOTLIGHT


Five Questions for Callum Roberts, Author and Professor Callum Roberts is a professor of marine conservation at the University of York in England and an author. His first book,...

Five Questions for Halsey Burgund, Creator of Ocean Voices Mar 8 2012 - 12:28pm Real or imagined, everyone has a story about the ocean. In 2010 sound artist Halsey Burgund teamed up with marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols to record as many of these tales as they could. The result was Ocean Voices.	Lemon Shark, Offshore Grand Bahamas Island Feb 6 2013 - 9:47am At night this lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) lurks at the surface, but often during the day they will lie on the ocean bottom. This behavior had been thought to save them energy, but in reality it takes energy for the shark to push water over their gills while not moving. They may be lying...
Veined Octopus at Anilao Batangas Pier, Philippines Jul 13 2012 - 9:11am The veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus), also known as the coconut octopus, has a skill beyond other cephalopods: it hides under animal and coconut shell, which it drags along the seafloor for protection. This is one of the few examples -- if not the only example -- of tool use in...	A Gathering of Seabirds and Seals Mar 18 2011 - 2:25pm A menageries of seabirds (including cormorants and pelicans) and seal gather on a rocky outcrop. The photo is a still from The Changing Sea, part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival, which was held in Washington, DC in 2011. See more pictures from the festival's movies.
Brian Skerry Voting Results Dec 3 2012 - 6:02pm easel.ly	Five Questions for Callum Roberts, Author and Professor Jul 18 2012 - 4:51pm
X-Ray Image of a Long-Spined Porcupine Fish Feb 6 2012 - 6:58pm The robust oval, spine covered body of a long-spined porcupine fish, Diodon holocanthus, is revealed in this X-ray image. Scientists in the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History use X-ray images, like the one shown, to study the complex...	Squid at Sunset Reef Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Jan 15 2013 - 10:51am “Upon returning from the reef after a night dive, I swam toward a bright reflection and came eye-to-eye with this beautiful, curious squid," said Charles Viggers, a Nature's Best photographer.
Virtual Book Reading with Daniel Botkin May 2 2013 - 10:48am Editor's note: This is an excerpt from Daniel Botkin's new book The Moon in the Nautilus Shell: Discordant Harmonies Reconsidered. He will be in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, May 8th for a lecture and book signing through the Smithsonian Associates.	Hammerhead Shark at Sunset Nov 28 2012 - 2:34pm A male great hammerhead shark swims in the Bahamas at sunset in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry. For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all over...
Citizens of the Sea Cover Sep 12 2010 - 1:39pm The cover of Dr. Nancy Knowlton's new book, Citizens of the Sea, published in partnership with the National Geographic Society and the Census of Marine Life. With dazzling photographs and reader-friendly text, the book addresses such topics as the homes, movements, mating, social dynamics, and...	Book Cover for Dampier's Account of his First Trip Around the World Jul 6 2010 - 5:06pm This is the cover of the book William Dampier -- pirate and naturalist -- wrote about his first trip around the world, one of four that he eventually made and described in a series of bestselling books. Read more about this out-of-the-ordinary pirate!
The Smithsonian Community Reef Oct 14 2010 - 11:33pm Local crafters who contributed to the Smithsonian Community Reef proved that there is no limit to the colorful reef forms that can be created using hyperbolic crochet techniques. Their wildly imaginative pieces are on display alongside the main installation of the Institute For Figuring’s...	Ocean Reading May 26 2011 - 11:07am Fiction or non-fiction, short or epic...what are your favorite books about the ocean?
Surfer at Bogue Banks, North Carolina, USA Dec 23 2010 - 3:32pm “As I set up for a sunset shot—one last, solitary surfer exited the water and I quickly fired a few frames trying to capture the serenity of the moment.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Karen Doody. See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views...	Five Questions for Musician Sam Lardner Jul 15 2010 - 6:50pm Wherever you live—and whatever your age or walk of life—there is something you can do to help the ocean, a way for you to Find Your Blue. For musician Sam Lardner, that has meant composing and producing “Blue Planet” and 13 other songs on his new CD, “Oceans Are Talking.”