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Ocean Portal by The Smithsonian Institution

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PHOTO Fish Using Counterillumination The fish at left stands out against the lighter waters above. At right the same fish—now with bioluminescent structures on its underside lit—blends in. Many deep sea creatures have evolved t...MORE PHOTOS


	PHOTO MORE PHOTOS Anemonefish in their Host Anemone Two bright orange anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) poke their heads between an...
	BLOG POST MORE STORIES Uncovering Biodiversity Before It Disappears Editor's Note: See more information and details about the organisms displayed in...
	PHOTO MORE PHOTOS Cardinalfish Dad with a Mouthful of Eggs Cardinalfish (Cheilodipterus sp.) dads do their part to protect their eggs by gi...

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					Scaly Dragonfish May 8, 2013 - 9:26AMThe long barbel on the chin of this dragonfish (Stomias boa) has a glowing tip that may attract prey. With its large mouth and sharp, curved teeth, the fish makes quick work of any prey that venture too close. Scaly dragonfish...

Seven New Fish Discovered

Apr 25, 2013 - 8:06AM

Starksia blennies, small fish with elongated bodies, generally native to...

A School of Hawaiian Squirrelfish

Apr 10, 2013 - 9:03AM

Check out the eyes on these Hawaiian squirrelfish (Sargocentron...

SPOTLIGHT


The Big Five of the Ocean: Exploring the Waters of East Africa A whale shark swims with a diver off the coast of Southern Mozambique. Photo: Caine Delacy. When we think "Africa," we think...

Happy Holidays from the Ocean! Dec 13 2012 - 11:02am Ocean creatures may not sing carols and go ice skating, but some celebrate the winter holidays all year round! So turn on the “Jingle Shell Rock” and celebrate with these intriguing ocean animals.	Tunas and Marlins Officially Classified as Threatened Jul 7 2011 - 4:20pm Extinction is a real possibility for three species of tunas. That’s one of the messages from a new study released today online in the journal Science.
Parasitic Worms in a Fish Jan 17 2013 - 10:20am The whitish spots on this fish are individual parasitic trematode worms. Trematodes have complicated life cycles that usually involve multiple hosts -- often starting in a snail and then moving on to other hosts, such as fish, birds, and mammals (including humans). They may have even lived in...	Creepy Critters: Marine Life Surfaces for Halloween 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...
A Fish that Looks Like a Whale Oct 23 2010 - 5:27pm This deep sea creature, the whalefish (Cetomimidae), has a whale-like body, a gaping mouth, no fins or scales and a deep lateral line, which detects vibrations in the water. The first specimens were discovered by two Smithsonian scientists in fish collections at the National Museum of Natural...	Candy Basslet Jul 25 2012 - 10:16am A candy basslet (Liopropoma carmabi) was just one of the specimens Smithsonian scientists collected from the deep reefs of Curaçao, in the southern Caribbean. To study biodiversity far below the water's surface, the researchers use a five-person submersible.
Five Questions for Carole Baldwin Mar 11 2011 - 4:06pm Dr. Carole Baldwin never expected to find seven new species of fish among the Starskia blennies she was studying at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. "My research team was using barcoding to match larval stages of reef fishes to adults," she said. But when comparing the DNA of...	Snowflake Moray Eel Dec 19 2012 - 10:23am No two snowflakes are alike. Every snowflake is beautiful in its own way. But this one’s pretty creepy. The snowflake moray eel (Echidna nebulosa) has white, black and yellow splotches all over its body, which come together to look like snowflake designs. Moray eels eat their prey in a unique...
World Fisheries from Sea to Table Nov 18 2010 - 3:49pm Worldwide, fisheries touch our lives in countless ways. If well maintained, they can feed millions of people, generate jobs and income, help maintain long-standing community and cultural traditions, and provide a range of products from medicines to clothing. World Fisheries Day, observed annually...	Meet the Suspects Oct 23 2010 - 5:15pm CREDIT: Chris Kenaley The Mystery Develops Flash forward to 1956, when scientists described another new kind of fish. It was named the tapetail because of its long, streamer-like tail. It also had a large upturned mouth. Unlike the whalefish, the tapetail was found living near the ocean’s...
Whalefish Swimming in the Ocean Nov 8 2010 - 11:50am Marine biologists discover a whalefish -- an incredibly rare deep-sea fish -- swimming in the ocean in this video. Because it is so dark where they live, females have well-developed sensory pores, called the lateral line system, running up and down the sides of their bodies to sense vibrations in...	Longsnout Seahorse Aug 2 2012 - 12:36pm The longsnout seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) can be found near seagrasses, corals, sargassum and mangroves. These seahorses usually are between three to seven inches tall and could be threatened habitat destruction, bycatch and the collection and trading of the species.
Exploring Ocean Life with an Underwater Vehicle Dec 16 2011 - 4:46pm Studies along the Northwest Atlantic Ocean shelf break- the transition from continental shelf to slope- by researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Rutgers University are revealing connections between physical processes in the ocean and the things that live there.	Video of the Palauan primitive cave eel (Protanguilla palau) Aug 16 2011 - 2:31pm A video of the Palauan primitive cave eel (Protanguilla palau) swimming in the Pacific off the Republic of Palau. Jiro Sakaue, a Japanese research diver, first discovered the new genus and species in a Palauan reef cave in 2009.
The Big Five of the Ocean: Exploring the Waters of East Africa Nov 21 2012 - 11:25am A whale shark swims with a diver off the coast of Southern Mozambique. Photo: Caine Delacy. When we think "Africa," we think of the "Big Five"—lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo and rhinos—that crisscross the African Savannah. Few would imagine that there could be more natural beauty on offer. But...	10 Things You Never Knew About Seahorses Jan 2 2013 - 1:01pm By Lindsay Aylesworth, Project Seahorse