Media Gallery: Photos Z-A

Zombie worms (Osedax roseus) eat away at the bones of a dead whale that has fallen to the seafloor in Sagami Bay, Japan. These bizarre worms rely on whale bones for energy and are what scientists call “sexually dimorphic”—the male and female forms are markedly different. In this case, the males are dwarfs that live on the trunks of the female worms.

This bivalve mollusk is native to the Caspian Sea, lagoons of the Black Sea, and their inflowing rivers. It lives in fresh and brackish water and cannot tolerate full seawater. In the 18th and 19th centuries, zebra mussels spread through European canals, reaching the Baltic Sea and many European river estuaries.

Two young visitors to the Sant Ocean Hall learn about the coral reef tank with one of our friendly volunteer docents. Both the Ocean Portal and the Museum's free public programs are made possible in part by contributions from supporter like you. Big or small, every gift helps!

This unusual, hairy crab (Kiwa puravida)—with no eyes—was recently discovered on a hydrothermal vent near Easter Island. It represents not only a new species but also a new genus—Kiwa, after the mythological Polynesian goddess of shellfish.