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Aug 29 2012 - 1:35pm
The comb jelly (ctenophore) Thalassocalyce inconstans is found in shallow to deep water in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and sometimes in warmer Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of California -- although this one was photographed in the Sargasso Sea by Census of Marine Zooplankton...
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Jul 25 2012 - 3:10pm
A veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) briefly leaves its hiding spot, a seafloor shell, to devour a crab.
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Mar 12 2013 - 7:35am
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.
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Feb 1 2013 - 11:16am
A beroid ctenophore lunges toward prey with its mouth wide open. Beroid comb jellies don't have tentacles to catch prey: instead, they can open their mouths and snap them shut tight to trap prey inside. And one of their main prey items is other jellies—one species (Beroe cucumis) feeds exclusively...
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Dec 21 2012 - 11:33am
Ever heard of a cookie-cutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis)? They look like your average shark—sort of menacing and streamlined—but their name comes from how they feed. They eat smaller animals (like squid) whole, but also take large, round cookie-cutter shaped bites out of larger animals, such as...
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Oct 22 2012 - 9:01am
A diet of algae and seagrasses gives this turtle (Chelonia mydas) greenish colored fat—and its name. Weighing as much as 500 pounds, the threatened green sea turtle lives its life at sea, with only females coming to shore to lay eggs. See a slideshow with more pictures of beautiful but threatened...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
As it clings to a red sea fan, a feather star (Cenometra bella) gently waves its slender arms—filtering bits of food from the water. Also known as sea lilies, feather stars are related to sea stars. Learn more about life on coral reefs in the Coral Reefs section.
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Jul 27 2012 - 9:35am
Found in Arctic waters, this rare deep-water species of larvacean, Oikopleura gorskyi, eats by filtering particles from the seawater it drifts through. Larvaceans build 'houses' around themselves made of protein that helps them filter the water even better. And when the filters in its house...
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Sep 12 2010 - 3:38pm
"Open Wide" spread from Citizens of the Sea by Nancy Knowlton.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Like octopods and cuttlefishes, giant squid have eight arms. But they use their two much longer feeding tentacles to seize prey. The tentacles have powerful suckers at the ends. More about the giant squid can be found in our Giant Squid featured story.
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Jan 31 2012 - 10:52am
Endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtles now have nearly 42,000 square miles of Pacific Ocean to call their own. Thanks to a decision in January 2012 by the National Marine Fisheries Service, these magnificent reptiles will now be safeguarded off the U.S. West Coast.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This magnified photo provides a close-up look at copepods—tiny crustaceans that right whales feed on. There are many species of copepods that live throughout the water column, from floating at the surface to buried at the bottom of the sea. They are very small so right whales need to eat a lot of...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Phoenix is seen skim feeding off the coast of Maine in August 2004. More about the right whale can be found in our Tale of a Whale featured story.
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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-bodied squids—giant or otherwise. The sperm whale is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN's Red List of...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This may look like a mane of hair, but it’s actually baleen from a North Atlantic Right Whale. Although it looks soft and furry, dried baleen is quite stiff, which made it useful for creating structure in a number of consumer products, including whips and umbrellas. Discover more about this species...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
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 the skin around the mouths of sperm whales as the squid fight to escape from the whale’s jaws. More...
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Jan 8 2013 - 12:06pm
I have a vivid childhood memory of sitting under the Blue Whale model hanging in the Natural History Museum in London, eating an ice cream and wondering “How in the world did that whale get so big?” These days we are closer to knowing the answer. Over the past several years, a group of researchers...
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Feb 7 2013 - 12:01pm
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaengliae) are the most abundant baleen whale in the nearshore waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. They, along with millions of penguins, seals, seabirds, and other whales, feed primarily on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) during summer months.
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Dec 23 2010 - 2:33pm
“This humpback uses its lower jaw to strain fish off the water’s surface as sea birds snatch their own meals right out of the whale’s open mouth.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Bryce Flynn.
See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
The fringed baleen plates are easy to observe as this North Atlantic right whale skims the water’s surface while it feeds. Many baleen whales suck in as much water was possible, and then push it out through their baleen to sieve out any krill. Right whales, however, skim the water's surface. More...
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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...
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Apr 23 2013 - 5:19pm
Even if you aren't a hardcore birder, chances are you have some hidden love for penguins. These flightless birds have captured our hearts through countless movies, beautiful images and their adorable fluffy young.
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