Media Gallery: Photos Newest

  • A humboldt squid releases ink.

    Humboldt Squid Shoots Ink
    Oct 11 2012 - 1:34pm
    A humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) -- also known as the jumbo squid -- releases a cloud of ink at night in Mexico's Sea of Cortez. These large, carnivorous squids can reach more than 5 feet in length...
  • An adult giant squid battles its only known predator - a sperm whale.

    Battle with a Sperm Whale
    Oct 11 2012 - 9:46am
    An adult giant squid struggles for survival in an encounter with a sperm whale - its only known predator. The whale will probably overpower and eat the squid. More about the giant squid can be found...
  • Ghost crabs are often seen scuttling quickly along beaches, and can be difficult to photograph in the wild. They are common in Moorea where this specimen was collected.

    Ghost Crab Close Up
    Oct 10 2012 - 11:45am
    Ghost crabs are often seen scuttling quickly along beaches at night, when they emerge from their burrows to feed, and can be difficult to photograph in the wild. They are common in Moorea, an island...
  • Coral Spawning by Moonlight

    Coral Spawning by Moonlight
    Oct 8 2012 - 12:58pm
    A coral (Montastraea faveolata) has just spawned. Each of the hundreds of polyps living in the colony releases a small pink bundle of sperm and eggs. Read more about coral spawing and watch a...
  • <p><em>Stephanocyathus (A.) spiniger</em>, a solitary, deep-water stony coral species, has six long spines that slow it from sinking into soft substrates.</p>

    Solitary Deep-water Corals
    Oct 5 2012 - 3:42pm
    These corals from the Smithsonian collections are Stephanocyathus (A.) spiniger, a solitary, deep-water stony coral species. Around 74% of all deep-water corals are solitary, living as...
  • A photo of a squid using bioluminescence to hide in the deep sea.

    Midwater Squid, Abralia veranyi
    Oct 5 2012 - 10:01am
    Glowing photophores are visible on a squid (Abralia veranyi) viewed from below at low light levels. We think of light as a way to see in the dark. But many species use it to help them hide. This...
  • A red crown of thorns sea star.

    Acanthaster planci
    Oct 3 2012 - 9:24am
    Scientists have been studying why populations of crown-of-thorns sea stars (Acanthaster planci) have mushroomed in recent decades. Coral reefs can suffer when the sea star's numbers explode ...
  • Colorful corals are disappearing in the Great Barrier Reef.

    Coral at the Great Barrier Reef
    Oct 2 2012 - 3:04pm
    This colorful coral lives in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. On the whole, this coral reef is the largest single structure built by living organisms and can be seen from space! Although more than one...
  • Photograph of several large jellyfish with orange bells, dark red tentacles, and pale ruffly oral arms, swimming against a bright blue aquarium background.

    Pacific Sea Nettles
    Oct 2 2012 - 10:09am
    These large jellyfish (Chrysaora fuscescens) are most commonly found along the coasts of California and Oregon. (They're also popular in the displays of public aquaria.) Their bells can grow to a...
  • Chimaera from the Deep

    Chimaera from the Deep
    Oct 1 2012 - 8:44am
    This rarely-seen smalleyed rabbitfish (Hydrolagus affinis), belonging to the order of Chimaera, was caught during a research trip to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in 2004 sponsored by the Census of Marine...
  • <p>The sea star <em>Odontaster validus</em> and sea urchin <em>Sterechinus neumayeri</em> are often found living in association with one another along the Antarctic <a href="/ocean-news/biodiversity-coastal-zone">coastline</a>.</p>

    Sea Stars and Urchins off Antarctica
    Sep 28 2012 - 3:03pm
    Sea stars (Odontaster validus) and sea urchins (Sterechinus neumayeri) spread over an algae-covered seafloor off the coast of Antarctica.
  • A longshoreman standing in front of a large pile of oyster shells on waterfront pier in Atlantic City in 1910.

    Counting Mountains of Oysters
    Sep 28 2012 - 12:12pm
    A longshoreman stands in front of a large pile of oyster shells on waterfront pier in Atlantic City in 1910. Back then, oysters were incredibly abundant. In the late 1800s, fishermen pulled in 10...