MORE ANATOMY
Jan 26 2010 - 10:46am
A mass of white muscle the size of a softball surrounds the dark brown beak of a giant squid. Learn more about this animal's oversized anatomy in our Giant Squid section .
Jan 26 2010 - 10:45am
This X-ray shows the mouth on the underside of a white-rimmed stingray ( Himantura signifer ) . The ray feeds without seeing its prey. Its eyes are on the top of its body, while its mouth is on the...
Jul 20 2012 - 12:57pm
Dr. Clyde Roper discusses the fascinating anatomy of the giant squid ( Architeuthis dux) in this excerpt of "Eyeball to Eyeball," an episode of Errol Morris' First Person television series. Watch...
Jun 11 2013 - 9:39am
Giant squid have the largest eye in the animal kingdom. At up to 10 inches in diameter, people often describe it as the size of a dinner plate -- or, in other words, as big as a human head. Here,...
Feb 7 2012 - 11:32am
The clearly pictured spines, rays and snout make identifying this longnose butterflyfish, Forcipiger longirostris , straightforward in this X-ray image. Scientists in the Division of Fishes at the...
Dec 31 2012 - 7:49am
A right whale opens its mouth wide, revealing huge plates of baleen hanging from its upper jaw. There are between 200 and 270 baleen plates on each side of a right whale's upper jaw. They work like a...
Sep 12 2011 - 2:55pm
These are fossil remains of archaeocetes, ancient whales, from the Paracas Formation of Peru's Pisco Basin . Smithsonian paleobiologist Nicholas D. Pyenson and a team of scientists discovered the...
Jul 12 2012 - 11:12am
Many sperm whales stranded on beaches or caught by whalers exhibit telltale circular scars like these. Only one thing could have made them: the strong suckers that line the giant squid’s eight arms...
Feb 6 2012 - 5:48pm
The elongated body, characteristic long and narrow snout, and small teeth make the slender snipe eel, Nemichthys scolopaceus , easily identifiable in this X-ray image. in the Division of Fishes at...
Jan 26 2010 - 10:45am
The distinctive form of a winghead shark, Eusphyra blochii , is revealed by an X-ray image. The shark's eyes are spread far apart, giving it superb binocular vision. Scientists in the Division of...
Jan 30 2013 - 9:21am
The Palauan primitive cave eel ( Protanguilla palau ) has an evolutionary history that dates back some 200 million years . Because of this and the fact that it has retained some primitive features,...
Sep 12 2012 - 10:45am
This scanning electron micrograph magnifies the tiny teeth that cover the surface of the giant squid’s tongue-like organ, or radula . Seven rows of sharp teeth help direct tiny pieces of food down...
Mar 7 2013 - 9:11am
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 .
Sep 20 2012 - 11:45am
Sperm whales have conical teeth on their long, narrow, lower jaw. The teeth fit neatly into sockets in the upper jaw, which has no teeth. This arrangement is a perfect adaptation for slurping up soft...
Dec 5 2012 - 10:09am
An X-ray image of grooved razorfish, Centriscus scutatus . Razorfish are encased in thin, transparent bony plates attached to their spines, which you can see in the X-ray. Scientists in the Division...
Oct 15 2012 - 9:30am
This close-up photo shows the tough, serrated ring around the opening of a giant squid sucker. The ring is made of chitin—the same material that’s in your fingernails. Using suction, the sucker...
Jan 26 2010 - 10:45am
Hundreds of powerful suckers stud the flattened club at the end of the giant squid’s long feeding tentacle. They help the squid capture and hang on tightly to its prey. They also leave deep scars in...
Nov 15 2012 - 9:58am
The feathery strands at the back of this nudibranch’s ( Chromodoris willani ) body are no mere adornment: they’re its gills! Nudibranchs, shell-less snails or sea slugs, are named for these tufted...
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