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Ocean Portal by The Smithsonian Institution

Invertebrates

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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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					Searching for Crustaceans in the Deep Sea May 16, 2013 - 9:04AMIn this video Smithsonian research zoologist Dr. Martha Nizinski takes viewers with her as she searches for crustaceans in the deep sea. She's particularly interested in finding squat lobsters, which despite their name, are...

Colorful Caribbean Crustaceans

May 15, 2013 - 8:12AM

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

Zombie Worms Eating Whale Bone

May 13, 2013 - 9:23AM

Zombie worms (Osedax roseus) eat away at the bones of a dead whale that has...

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...

Bioluminescing Dinoflagellate Sep 9 2011 - 11:27am Sunset? Time to glow! A biological clock triggers bioluminescence in the dinoflagellate Pyrocystis fusiformis. At dusk, cells produce the chemicals responsible for its light. Hear from marine scientists about what it's like to encounter bioluminescent animals in the deep sea.	Under Arctic Ice Jan 4 2011 - 5:17pm Hidden beneath Arctic ice is a world few have ever seen. Take the icy plunge with a team of ice-loving scientists.
Giant Squid Beak Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am A mass of white muscle the size of a softball surrounds the dark brown beak of a giant squid. Learn more about this animal's oversized anatomy in our Giant Squid section.	Giant Isopod Oct 27 2010 - 6:16pm This giant isopod (a crustacean related to shrimps and crabs) was collected from the cold, deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico in 2006. Scientists believe that it is one of about nine species in the genus Bathynomus.
What is the Largest Squid? A Squid Size Comparison Chart Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am Squids come in a wide range of sizes but despite differences in size and shape, all work basically the same way inside. More about the giant squid can be found in the Giant Squid section.	Rockfish Sheltering in Coral Jun 7 2011 - 11:18am A rockfish finds refuge in a deep-sea coral—a red tree coral of the Primnoidae family in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Learn more about deep-sea coral reef ecosystems in our Deep-sea Corals article.
Gold Coral Jun 7 2011 - 12:24pm Species of deep-sea gold coral, or Gerardia, often have a tree-like shape, as you can see in this specimen. See more pictures of coral in our Deep-sea Corals article.	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 adaptation is called counterillumination. Seen from below, an animal might stand out as a dark shape...
Boat Propeller Fouled With Barnacles Dec 27 2010 - 1:45pm Home is where the hull is: Since the dawn of seafaring, humankind has had to deal with pesky creatures, such as barnacles, that “foul” ship hulls and boat propellers like this one. Find out more in "No Fouling Around" from the Citizens of the Sea blog series.	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 bioluminescent photophores. But these squids can't bargain for their lives with those jewels: they have been...
The Invisible Loss: The Impacts of Oil You Do Not See Jun 9 2010 - 9:23am Since late April, the world has watched a devastating oil spill from a BP drilling rig spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico and become one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of the United States.	Corals Threatened by Acid Seas Apr 5 2011 - 4:18pm Much of the carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere ends up in the ocean. As CO2 levels rise, seawater becomes more acidic. This change in chemistry poses a serious threat to marine organisms including snails, corals, such as in the above photo showing a single bleached polyp, and fish.
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...	California Market Squid Jul 23 2012 - 9:30am Two California market squids, Loligo opalescens, mate in the waters off of California's Channel Islands. While spawning, the males' arms blush red as he embraces the female; a warning to other competing males to back-off.
Submarine Volcanoes and Hydrothermal Vents Jan 14 2011 - 1:41pm Recent scientific discoveries have revealed an underwater community of marine animals and other organisms that thrive in the dark depths of the ocean near hydrothermal vents and undersea volcanoes. This ocean ecosystem is dependent on the presence of hydrothermal vents, which release hot and...	Invertebrates from the Gulf of Mexico Jun 6 2010 - 12:16pm The Smithsonian's Department of Invertebrate Zoology has a collection of over 57,000 specimens from over 5,700 sites in the Gulf of Mexico, which are now catalogued on Google Earth. Below is a tiny sample.