Media Gallery: Photos Newest

  • <p>A bowl full of….shrimp? These small snapping shrimp (<em><strong><a href="http://eol.org/pages/4264098/details">Alpheus randalli</a></strong></em>) look just like the mini candy canes you find everywhere this season. They share their living space with goby fish, helping the fish dig and maintain the burrow that they share in the seafloor. In turn the small, and mostly blind, shrimp (seen in this photo below the goby) get protection from predators in the form of alerts from the goby and a place to call home.</p>

    Candy Cane Shrimp
    Dec 26 2012 - 10:59am
    These candy cane snapping shrimp (Alpheus randalli) have a pretty nice set up. They share their living space with goby fish, helping the fish dig and maintain the burrow that they share in the...
  • <p>This is a tree topper unlike any other! Reminiscent of a freshly made snow angel, these pteropods are actually shell-less sea snails (<em>Clione limacina</em>). Unlike the typical snail, they flap their adapted foot ‘wings’ to get around in the water column. They are extremely small, with the largest species reaching only 5 centimeters long. Sea angels' mostly eat their relatives, the <strong><a href="/ocean-photos/pair-sea-butterflies">sea butterfies</a></strong>, which are threatened by ocean acidification.</p>

    A Chorus of Sea Angels
    Dec 24 2012 - 12:03pm
    This is a tree topper unlike any other! Reminiscent of a freshly made snow angel, these pteropods are actually shell-less sea snails (Clione limacina). Unlike the typical snail, they flap their...
  • <p>Ever heard of a cookie-cutter shark (<em>Isistius brasiliensis</em>)? They <strong><a href="http://eol.org/pages/608688/overview">look like your average shark</a></strong>—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 tuna, whales, dolphins, and seals (which you can see in this picture of an elephant seal). They suction on to the larger animals and twist around to take a bite of flesh using their lower row of sharp teeth. No snowmen cookies though—just a round hole.</p>

    Cookie-cutter Shark
    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...
  • <p>This festive worm (<em>Spirobranchus giganteus</em>) lives on tropical coral reefs and resembles a fluffy fir tree adorned with ornaments. The multi-functional branch-like appendages are used by the worm to breathe and to catch meals of plankton floating by.</p>

    White Christmas Tree Worm
    Dec 20 2012 - 10:40am
    The festive Christmas tree worm (Spirobranchus giganteus) lives on tropical coral reefs and resembles a fluffy fir tree adorned with ornaments. The multi-functional branch-like appendages are used by...
  • <p>No two snowflakes are alike. Every snowflake is beautiful in its own way. But this one’s pretty creepy. The snowflake moray eel (<em>Echidna nebulosa</em>)&nbsp;has white, black and yellow splotches all over its body, which come together to look like snowflake designs. <strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv2DkzOPBXw">Moray eels eat their prey</a></strong> in a unique way – with two jaws. The second set of jaws is in their throat, which shoots up and grabs the prey from the main pair of jaws, drawing the prey down to the esophagus.</p>

    Snowflake Moray Eel
    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...
  • <p>How Many Nights of Hanukkah? A harp has its own place in holiday music, but we also think this sponge looks like a super-sized menorah! This <strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3tAtXdaik&amp;feature=player_embedded">newly-discovered carnivorous sponge</a></strong> (<em>Chondrocladia lyra)&nbsp;</em>was found using robotic submersibles operated by the <strong><a href="http://www.mbari.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute</a>&nbsp;</strong>10,000 feet below the surface in dark waters. It traps small crustacean prey with barbed hooks found along its branch-like limbs. Once it has caught something, the sponge covers it with a thin membrane and the digestion process begins.</p>

    Harp Sponge
    Dec 18 2012 - 8:47am
    This newly-discovered carnivorous sponge (Chondrocladia lyra) was found using robotic submersibles operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute 10,000 feet below the surface in...
  • <p>Shake those shells and make some music! The&nbsp;<strong><a href="http://beachchairscientist.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/jingle-shells-jingle-shells-jingle-all-the-way/">jingle shell</a>&nbsp;</strong>(<em>Anomia simplex</em>) is a common bivalve found on the Atlantic coast of North America, amongst the more commonly known clams and oysters. As with oysters, the lower shell is glued to a hard surface, Even after the mollusk is dead, the shell keeps its beautiful and shiny exterior. The thin, translucent shells are often used in jewelry, and when strung together can sound like bells, hence the name.</p>

    Jingle Shells
    Dec 17 2012 - 9:26am
    The jingle shell (Anomia simplex) is a common bivalve found on the Atlantic coast of North America, amongst the more commonly known clams and oysters. As with oysters, the lower shell is glued...
  • Parrotfish in Mucus Cocoon

    Parrotfish in Mucus Cocoon
    Dec 14 2012 - 10:15am
    A parrotfish (Chlorurus sordidus) creates a mucus cocoon to protect it from parasites, like bloodsucking isopods, while it sleeps. Read more from the Citizens at Sea blog. 
  • As we dive deeper into winter in the northern hemisphere, the possibility of snow becomes an increasingly frequent topic of conversation. But did you know that the ocean gets a regular dose of ‘marine snow’ year round? The flakes in the ocean are made up of poop from animals, decaying animals and and other types of organic matter that slowly make their way to the seafloor—if they aren’t eaten along the way!

    A Snowy Underwater Wonderland
    Dec 13 2012 - 11:02am
    As we dive deeper into winter in the northern hemisphere, the possibility of snow becomes an increasingly frequent topic of conversation. But did you know that the ocean gets a regular dose of ‘...
  • Salps are tube-shaped, soft, transparent animals that swim through the ocean, straining out plant food as they go.

    Antarctic Salps
    Dec 13 2012 - 10:17am
    Climate and sea changes in the Southern Ocean create conditions that favor the growth of salps over krill, the latter of which are a vital food source for seals, whales, and penguins. Salps are...
  • This jewel squid (Histioteuthis bonnellii) lives above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

    Jewel Squid
    Dec 12 2012 - 10:33am
    This beautiful jewel squid (Histioteuthis bonnellii) can be found swimming above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at depths of 500-2,000 meters (1,640-6,562 feet). The “jewels” covering the body are...
  • Puffin in Flight, Pribilof Islands Alaska

    Puffin in Flight
    Dec 11 2012 - 9:29am
    A tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) in flight against a gray sky in Alaska’s Pribilof Islands (USA). Puffins are charismatic seabirds that delight wildlife enthusiasts and draw tourists to the...