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PHOTO Fish Using Counterillumination The fish at left stands out against the lighter waters above. At right the same fish—now with bioluminescent structures on its underside lit—blends in. Many deep sea creatures have evolved t...MORE PHOTOS


	PHOTO MORE PHOTOS Anemonefish in their Host Anemone Two bright orange anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) poke their heads between an...
	BLOG POST MORE STORIES Uncovering Biodiversity Before It Disappears Editor's Note: See more information and details about the organisms displayed in...
	PHOTO MORE PHOTOS Cardinalfish Dad with a Mouthful of Eggs Cardinalfish (Cheilodipterus sp.) dads do their part to protect their eggs by gi...

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					Scaly Dragonfish May 8, 2013 - 9:26AMThe long barbel on the chin of this dragonfish (Stomias boa) has a glowing tip that may attract prey. With its large mouth and sharp, curved teeth, the fish makes quick work of any prey that venture too close. Scaly dragonfish...

Seven New Fish Discovered

Apr 25, 2013 - 8:06AM

Starksia blennies, small fish with elongated bodies, generally native to...

A School of Hawaiian Squirrelfish

Apr 10, 2013 - 9:03AM

Check out the eyes on these Hawaiian squirrelfish (Sargocentron...

SPOTLIGHT


The Big Five of the Ocean: Exploring the Waters of East Africa A whale shark swims with a diver off the coast of Southern Mozambique. Photo: Caine Delacy. When we think "Africa," we think...

A World Adrift: Life in the Sargassum May 18 2012 - 4:43pm Smithsonian Marine Science Network Postdoctoral Fellow, Seabird McKeon, returns from the Smithsonian field site in Belize. Together with Dan Barshis of Stanford University, Seabird reports on the seemingly invisible inhabitants of drifting sargassum seaweeds. As with many parts of the ocean, a ball...	Examine the Clues Aug 1 2011 - 11:06am In 2003, a team of Japanese scientists analyzed the DNA of tapetails and whalefish. The results suggested that these two very different looking fishes were almost identical in one specific gene. But more clues were needed. An international team of marine biologists took a closer look at specimens...
Scientists Call New Eel Species A Living Fossil Aug 17 2011 - 12:09pm Scientists at the Smithsonian and partnering organizations have discovered a remarkably primitive eel in a fringing reef off the coast of the Republic of Palau. This fish exhibits many primitive anatomical features unknown in the other 19 families and more than 800 species of living eels, resulting...	Guineafowl Moray Nov 30 2012 - 10:24am This guineafowl moray (Gymnothorax meleagris) is one of about 200 species of moray eels found in tropical and subtropical coral reefs. Moray eels are a type of bony fish. Many species, like this one with a brown body and white spots similar to a guineafowl, are named after their distinct...
Behind the Photo: The Primal Ocean Oct 31 2012 - 4:34pm	Bignose Fish Oct 23 2010 - 5:44pm This mysterious deep sea creature, which has an unusual bulge on its snout, grows to only about 68 mm (2.7 in) long. It lives deep in the ocean, like the whalefish.
Toothy Goby in Coral Jan 8 2013 - 10:21am The toothy goby or common ghost goby (Pleurosicya mossambica) lives among soft corals and sponges in the Indo-Pacific ocean. The relationship it has with its host is commensal, which means the goby benefits from the protection and habitat in the corals, but the coral doesn't get hurt or benefit...	Yellow-mouth Moray Eel in the Red Sea (Eilat, Israel) May 10 2012 - 12:43pm “This moray eel was resting among some hard coral and was mesmerized by my dive lights, making it a very cooperative subject. The moray eel rhythmically opens and closes its mouth to move water through its gills and facilitate respiration, giving it the appearance of being aggressive and making for...
Parasitic Worms in a Fish Jan 17 2013 - 10:20am The whitish spots on this fish are individual parasitic trematode worms. Trematodes have complicated life cycles that usually involve multiple hosts -- often starting in a snail and then moving on to other hosts, such as fish, birds, and mammals (including humans). They may have even lived in...	Whalefish Swimming in the Ocean Nov 8 2010 - 11:50am Marine biologists discover a whalefish -- an incredibly rare deep-sea fish -- swimming in the ocean in this video. Because it is so dark where they live, females have well-developed sensory pores, called the lateral line system, running up and down the sides of their bodies to sense vibrations in...
Juvenile plane-head filefish May 21 2012 - 5:22pm Relatively slow moving, juvenile plane-head filefish Monacanthus hispidus (Monacanthidae) travel along with the algae. They pick off and eat small animals as they move around in the rotating sargassum ball. Adult filefish only grow to be about 11 inches long.	Coral Reef Lobster and Fish Jun 6 2011 - 12:11pm A squat lobster and blackbelly rosefish find shelter on a Lophelia pertusa coral reef off the southeastern United States. The Johnson-Sea-Link submersible captured this image in 2009.
Biodiversity in the Baltic Sea Oct 12 2011 - 4:56pm In the spring of 2011, a research crew from Oceana spent two months in the brackish Baltic Sea. The Baltic faces challenges from pollution, algae blooms, over fishing, and invasive species. Oceana researchers gathered data, samples, photographs, and videos with the goal of proposing an...	No Fouling Around Dec 22 2010 - 4:21pm Since the dawn of seafaring, humankind has had to deal with the pesky creatures that settle on ships—seaweeds, barnacles, and others that take advantage of the empty real estate provided by a clean hull. Fouled hulls make for slower speeds and for powerboats, higher fuel costs (drag is a drag).
Bioluminescent Animals Photo Gallery Aug 18 2011 - 4:24pm Bioluminescence is one of the more captivating adaptations that have evolved in marine animals. It's the ability of organisms to create and emit light. Dive underwater and you may witness lightshows of red, green, and blue. Chemical reactions release energy that produces the light. Many species use...	Protected Pigfish and Mao-Mao School Mar 13 2013 - 7:21am Red Pigfish (Bodianus unimaculatus) and Blue Mao-Mao (Scorpis violacea) school at the edge of a cavern in New Zealand's Poor Knights Islands. Read photographer Brian Skerry's story behind this photo on the Ocean Portal blog.