Today's Catch

  • Mar 13, 2013
    <p>Red Pigfish&nbsp;and Blue Mao-Mao&nbsp;school at the edge of a cavern in New Zealand's Poor Knights Islands. Read photographer <strong><a href="/blog/behind-photo-primal-ocean">Brian Skerry's story behind this photo</a></strong>.</p>

    Protected Pigfish and Mao-Mao School

    Red Pigfish (Bodianus unimaculatus) and Blue Mao-Mao (Scorpis violacea) school at the edge of a cavern in New Zealand's Poor Knights Islands. Read photographer Brian Skerry's story behind this photo on the Ocean Portal blog.

    Brian Skerry, Protected areas, Schooling, Underwater photography
    CREDIT:

    Brian Skerry, National Geographic
  • Mar 12, 2013
    <p>Stinging cells (nematocysts) line the tentacles of this moon jelly (<strong><em><a href="http://eol.org/pages/203484/overview">Aurelia aurita</a></em></strong>).</p>

    Jellyfish Tentacles Close Up

    Stinging cells (nematocysts) line the tentacles of this moon jelly (Aurelia aurita). Upon contact with prey or a predator, a venom-laden harpoon shoots out to stun or kill. Read more about jellyfish anatomy in our jellyfish and comb jellies overview page.

    Adaptations, Defenses, Feeding, Jellyfish
    CREDIT:

    © Alexander Semenov Link
  • Mar 11, 2013
    <p>Fish swim around the wreck of the <strong><em><a href="http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/battleoftheatlantic2/bedfordshire.html">HMT Bedfordshire</a></em></strong>, an Arctic fishing trawler that was converted into an anti-submarine warship during World War II, and sunk off the coast of North Carolina.</p>

    Fish Swim Around Shipwreck

    Fish swim around the wreck of the HMT Bedfordshire, an Arctic fishing trawler that was converted into an anti-submarine warship during World War II. Originally part of Great Britain's Royal Navy, it was sent to assist the United States Navy in 1941. In Spring 1942, the HMT Bedfordshire was hit by a torpedo sent from a U-boat and sunk off the coast of North Carolina, killing all 37 crewmembers.

    Shipwrecks
    CREDIT:

    NOAA/Battle of the Atlantic Expedition
  • Mar 8, 2013
    The mandarinfish lives in western Pacific tropical coral reef ecosystems and lacks the scales that are typically seen on bony fish.

    Mandarinfish

    These beautiful mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) are covered in bright blue, red, yellow and orange waves. What they lack, however, are traditional fish scales. They live in western Pacific tropical coral reef ecosystems and instead of your typical fish scales they are covered in a smelly, thick mucus coating. It's possible that this mucus, which not only smells—but tastes—bad, is used as a deterrent to predators.

    Adaptations, Defenses
    CREDIT:

    Erwin Poliakoff
  • Mar 7, 2013
    <p>Comb jellies (such as this <em>Bolinopsis</em> species) are named for their combs: the rows of cilia lining their bodies that propel them through the ocean.</p>

    Ctenophore Combs - Close Up

    Comb jellies (such as this Bolinopsis species) are named for their combs: the rows of cilia lining their bodies that propel them through the ocean. Read more about jellyfish and comb jellies. 

    Anatomy, Ctenophores
    CREDIT:

    © Alexander Semenov Link
  • Mar 6, 2013
    This 1874 photo of a squid draped over a bathtub was the first ever taken of a giant squid. It belonged to Reverend Moses Harvey of Newfoundland.

    First Giant Squid Photo

    This 1874 photo of a squid draped over a bathtub was the first ever taken of a giant squid. It belonged to the Reverend Moses Harvey of Newfoundland. More about the giant squid can be found in the Giant Squid section.

    Cephalopods
    CREDIT:

    From Verrill, A.E., 1882, Report on the Cephalopods of the Northeastern Coast of America
  • Mar 5, 2013
    “It’s quite normal for this type of goby to sit still on hard coral like this. I spotted the first of these very small fish and set up my camera for the shot. Just as I was about to take a picture, a second goby came out of nowhere and sat on the first one. I quickly corrected the frame and took two or three shots before both of them disappeared. It was an incredible moment.”-- Nature's Best Photographer, Tobias Friedrich

    Gobies on Coral, Near Marsa Alam, Egypt

    Gobies make up the largest family (Gobiidae) of fishes in the world, with over 2,000 species. In this large family you can also find the smallest fish. The gobies in this photo are about one inch long (2.5 cm), and most in the family are less than four inches. Because of their small size gobies must work to evade their many predators, often through burrowing or special mutualistic relationships with other animals. 

    Nature's Best, Underwater photography
    CREDIT:

    Tobias Friedrich/Nature's Best Photography
  • Mar 4, 2013
    <p>This colony of <em>Rosacea</em> may look like a single jellyfish, but it is actually a large group of smaller siphonophores clustered and living together.</p>

    Jellyfish, or Siphonophore Colony?

    This colony of Rosacea may look like a single jellyfish, but it is actually a large group of smaller siphonophores clustered and living together. In fact, the zooids (individual siphonophores living in the colony) cannot survive on their own. This specimen was photographed by the Census of Marine Zooplankton, a project of the Census of Marine Life, in the Sargasso Sea in April 2006.

    Jellyfish
    CREDIT:

    L. Madin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (www.cmarz.org)
  • Mar 1, 2013
    Two sea lions interact amongst schools of small fish.

    Seal or Sea Lion?

    Seals and sea lions have many similarities, and are in the same family of Pinnipeds, but they lead very different lives. Seals are smaller than sea lions; male Stellar sea lions can grow to be up to 2,200 pounds. Seals also are suited to spend more time in the water than sea lions, which can "walk" on shore with their large flippers and spend time in large social groups. Another give-away is that sea lions have external ear flaps, whereas seals don't have external ears—if you look closely you can see tiny ear holes.

    Sea lions
    CREDIT:

    Flickr User wildestanimal
  • Feb 28, 2013
    These zooplankton collected on a research cruise include a jellyfish, a lanternfish, a snipe eel, two large orange shrimp, a fuzzy pyrosome (which is bioluminescent), and several smaller animals.

    Counting the Ocean's Diversity

    How many animals swim in the sea? It's not easy to count them all. To get a feel for the ocean's diversity, scientists, such as those involved in the Census of Marine Life, sail out on research cruises to collect and count as many animals as they can find! Shown here is a sample of zooplankton collected in a trawl net with a 10-meter-square opening, including a jellyfish, a lanternfish, a snipe eel, two large orange shrimp, a fuzzy pyrosome (which is bioluminescent), and several smaller animals.

    Biodiversity, NOAA, Surveys
    CREDIT:

    Exploring the Inner Space of the Celebes Sea 2007 Exploration, NOAA-OE.