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PHOTO Rapa Whelk Rapa whelks, native to Asia, have invaded the Chesapeake Bay and are raising concerns about economic and ecological impacts to the Bay region due to their shellfish diet. Scientists believe...MORE PHOTOS


	PHOTO MORE PHOTOS Invertebrates from the Gulf of Mexico The Smithsonian's Department of Invertebrate Zoology has a collection of over 57...
	BLOG POST MORE STORIES So You Think You're Smarter Than a Cephalopod? The blanket octopus can rip a poisonous tentacle from a Portuguese man-o-war and...
	IMAGE GALLERY MORE GALLERIES Bioluminescent Animals Photo Gallery Bioluminescence is one of the more captivating adaptations that have evolved in...

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					Lettuce Sea Slug May 20, 2013 - 8:57AMThe lettuce sea slug (Elysia crispata) has enlarged fleshy appendages that are folded over one another, with colors ranging from blue to green, with purple and red lining. The green coloring is what gives this mollusk it's common...

Searching for Crustaceans in the Deep Sea

May 16, 2013 - 9:04AM

In this video Smithsonian research zoologist Dr. Martha Nizinski takes...

Colorful Caribbean Crustaceans

May 15, 2013 - 8:12AM

Discovering new species is an exciting quest, right? Well, some parts are—...

SPOTLIGHT


A World Adrift: Life in the Sargassum The open ocean is surprisingly barren to the naked eye. Every now and again you will encounter a school of fish and their...

It’s a Jelly Eat Jelly World Jan 12 2011 - 7:13pm A “pink meanie” jellyfish (Drymonema larsoni)—a species found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean—feeds on a moon jelly (Aurelia). Dr. Keith Bayha from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and Dr.	Octopus Shows Off Its Siphon Aug 2 2012 - 4:18pm This common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) doesn't have a jetpack to help him zoom through the water, but he's got something pretty close: a siphon that shoots water. (It's the little orange/yellow cup in the picture.) Octopuses pull water into their mantle cavities and then squeeze it out through the...
Giant Squid Caught Live On Screen Jan 25 2013 - 11:21am In 2012, the long-elusive giant squid was finally filmed live in its natural habitat. The squid was found by placing glowing lures outside of a submersible to mimic jellyfish, which typically indicate to the squid that food is nearby. Before this encounter, the giant squid had never been observed...	Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) Nov 1 2012 - 10:40am This ctenophore (a stingless jellyfish-like animal) is native to the east coast of North and South America. In 1982, it was discovered in the Black Sea, where it was transported by ballast water. It subsequently spread to the Caspian Sea. In both places it multiplied and formed immense populations...
So You Think You're Smarter Than a Cephalopod? May 5 2011 - 4:41pm The blanket octopus can rip a poisonous tentacle from a Portuguese man-o-war and wield it like a sword to ward off enemies as it soars through the ocean trailing its webbed cloak behind it.	Encounters with Bioluminescent Creatures Apr 29 2010 - 10:23am Scientists describe the amazing bioluminescent creatures they encounter as they descend into the deep--siphonophores, ctenophores, and viperfish--in this Smithsonian/History Channel "Deep Ocean Explorers" video excerpt. If you like this video, watch the full 14-minute version of the Deep Ocean...
Coral Reefs: One Species at a Time May 11 2010 - 3:27pm Coral reefs are bustling cities of marine life, until rising ocean temperatures turn them into ghost towns. Can reefs spring back from devastating bleaching events? In this episode of the Podcast of Life, Ari Daniel Shapiro and researcher Dr. Randi Rotjan of the New England Aquarium, journey to the...	Brown Grass Shrimp Sep 13 2012 - 10:36am Another common species of sargassum shrimp, Leander tenuicornis (Palaemonidae), can be spotted by its long transparent claws or "chelae". Very similar shrimp are found in near shore habitats all around the world. Using genetic tests we may determine if they are the same species, or two...
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 filter-feeding tunicates that float through the water column, sometimes forming long salp chains,...	From Mermen to Architeuthis, Our Fascination with the Giant Squid Dec 4 2009 - 1:28pm Humans have long been captivated by what we now call the giant squid (Architeuthis). This image gallery gives a glimpe into our fascination with the animal. For a long time, people saw mysterious movements in the water or found dead giant squid and didn't know what they were—and even confused a...
Celebrating Marine Moms May 11 2012 - 2:12pm This Mother's Day we honor moms everywhere. Whether with gills, fins, flippers, claws, tentacles or arms, we appreciate all you do for us. Here is a Happy Mother's Day salute to devoted moms above the waves and below. To learn more about ocean moms check out our blog post on marine menopausal...	Deep-Sea Amphipod Jan 6 2011 - 2:14pm Lanceola clausi, the bull-dog amphipod, another rare deep-water species captured below 1000 meters (3281 feet) with the multinet. View the “Under Arctic Ice” photo essay to learn more.
Smithsonian Cephalopod Collection Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am This photo shows just a small part of the cephalopod collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Shown here is Dr. Clyde Roper, a zoologist and squid expert.	A Bite of Bitter Crab Mar 27 2013 - 1:37pm Hopefully you've never bitten into a delicious hunk of snow crab meat and instantly spit it out because instead of crab you tasted... aspirin?! If you have, it might have been crab meat infected with a species of Hematodinium, a parasitic dinoflagellate that is the cause of Bitter Crab Disease in...
Diversity of Deep-Sea Corals Jun 8 2011 - 5:25pm Sample the surprising diversity of deep-sea corals. See some of the ways they differ in color, shape, and size. Explore more in the multimedia feature "Coral Gardens of the Deep Sea."	Squid Babies Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am These newly hatched squid larvae (Doryteuthis plei) are tinier than the head of a dissecting pin, which is even smaller than a common sewing pin. More about the giant squid can be found in our Giant Squid featured story.