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Apr 10 2013 - 9:03am
Check out the eyes on these Hawaiian squirrelfish (Sargocentron xantherythrum)! Because squirrelfish are almost entirely nocturnal, they need big eyes to absorb as much moonlight and starlight as they can in the dark. During the day, they hide out in the nooks and crannies of tropical coral reefs....
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Aug 10 2010 - 5:06pm
No iguana wants to be cooked alive on a hot rock and then served up as dinner for a Galapagos hawk. But it turns out the marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) have a strategy that warns them of the presence of hawks they can’t see. They learned to tune in to a kind of police scanner…the alarm...
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Nov 30 2009 - 1:32pm
John Hildebrand discusses his research at the Scripps Whale Acoustic Lab on the FLIP platform. Learn more about how scientists are using bioacoustics to study and protect whales.
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Jan 4 2011 - 5:17pm
Hoping to hear bowhead whales, NOAA marine mammal scientist Sue Moore listens to real-time sounds from an underwater hydrophone.
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Apr 16 2013 - 11:02am
Polarized sunglasses have become the norm for humans when they want to filter out the strong glare from the sunlight bouncing off of water in a horizontal direction. But how do animals do that live in the water full time see over the glare? Over time some animals, including fish, crabs and shrimp,...
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Feb 17 2010 - 6:22pm
Sharks are much older than dinosaurs. Their ancestry dates back more than 400 million years, and they are one of evolution’s greatest success stories. These animals are uniquely adapted to their ocean environment with six highly refined senses of smell, hearing, touch, taste, sight, and even...
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Nov 2 2010 - 12:43pm
Animals, on land and in the ocean, live in a 3-D world, and they depend on their sense organs and brains to build the mental constructs that allow them to orient and navigate, which is crucial for hunting and fleeing. The process is far from simple. Humans, for example, use many visual clues to...
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Sep 1 2011 - 3:08pm
CREDIT: © Mary Parrish/Smithsonian Institution
1. Respect Your Elders
Sharks have a long and impressive lineage. Ancient sharks were cruising the ocean 400 million years ago--long before dinosaurs roamed on land. Relatives of the great white like the giant megatooth evolved more than...
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May 20 2012 - 1:03pm
A mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) holds her clutch of eggs in her clubbed claws. Usually these claws are weapons that punch hard-shelled prey at speeds of more than 50 miles an hour.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This new species of lobster is blind—an adaptation to deep-sea life—and has very bizarre claws, or chelipeds. It was discovered about 300 meters (984 feet) deep in the Phillipine Sea by a Census of Marine Life expedition. Not only was this a new species, but it was placed in an entirely new genus...
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Mar 20 2013 - 9:27am
A great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) emerges from the water's surface, gaping at the photographer. Gaping is a way sharks communicate with each other, and maybe even try and communicate with humans.
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Oct 17 2012 - 10:49am
The Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii), a fish that looks similar to an eel, has no jaw and is totally blind. They find food, often dead fish, through a specialized sense of smell and, because they can absorb nutrients through their skin, can eat by just burrowing into a dead carcass.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
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, National Museum of Natural History staffer Katie Velazco goes eye-to-eye with a preserved example from...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
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.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Sharks have six highly refined senses: smell, hearing, touch, taste, sight, and electromagnetism. These finely honed senses, along with a sleek, torpedo-shaped body, make most sharks highly skilled hunters. They often serve as top predators - keeping populations of prey species in check. Removing...
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Nov 18 2011 - 11:20am
Dr. Stefan Huggenberger from the University of Cologne explains sound production in sperm whales in "Moby Dick's Boom Box: Nasal Complex of Sperm Whales," a presentation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History on Nov. 16, 2011.
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Jun 20 2012 - 2:47pm
Under white light, this shortnose greeneye fish (Chlorophthalmus agassizi) looks unimpressive. But, in dim blue light—the type usually seen at depth—it shows its true fluorescent colors.
NOAA scientists collected this specimen during a 2004 expedition for optical studies. The scientists...
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Jul 2 2012 - 3:24pm
Ships are well-known for their tiny rooms and tight quarters. But have you heard of a sea vessel that has toilets and sinks sticking out of the walls, and staircases and doors on the ceiling? This unique research vessel is real -- and, in June 2012, the Office of Naval Research and Scripps...
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Dec 22 2009 - 3:14pm
Hear how research unfolds at sea in a tiny Zodiac surrounded by creatures that measure longer than a city bus. Playing female whale calls into the water, researcher Susan Parks suddenly finds herself the center of attention of a group of male North Atlantic right whales. Will she be able to gather...
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Feb 17 2010 - 7:13pm
Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are marvels of evolution, with highly-evolved senses keeping them among the ocean’s top predators. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.
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Jan 5 2011 - 2:21pm
Researchers from the SOCAL-10 research partnership study the behavior of orcas (commonly called killer whales) and how they react to sonar.
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Nov 21 2011 - 12:00pm
What does a bioluminescent creature that lives more than two miles below the surface of the ocean and a glow stick have in common? More than you think.
In a unique spin on an art technique called "light painting," you can create your own bioluminescent organisms with glow sticks in your classroom...
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