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A narwhal breaches the surface, its tusk pointed to the sky

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Why a Tusk? The real-life unicorns of the sea and the tusks that make them famous

A Caribbean hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus) crawls on the forest floor.

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The Great Hermit Crab Migration

A female (top left) and male Photerus annecohenae. Note that females are larger than males (sexual dimorphism) and that males have bigger eyes.

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You Light Up My World!

Screenshot from the "Masters of Disguise" video showing a spotted octopus on the seafloor.

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Masters of Disguise

A humpback whale breaching in Antarctic waters.

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Humpback Whales in Antarctica: What Are the Whales Doing?

Like other cephalopods, the common cuttlefish (Sepia officials Linnaeus, 1758) possesses serious brain power.

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So You Think You're Smarter Than a Cephalopod?

The Komodo National Park site in Indonesia was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991. The site hosts "Komodo dragons" (Varanus komodoensis), a unique species that exists nowhere else in the world and is of great interest to scientists studying evolu

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Tunicates—Not So Spineless Invertebrates

Phoenix swimming with her calf.

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Scientists Use Bioacoustics to Protect Marine Mammals

Hundreds of illustrated red crabs gathering on sand with Santa hats.

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Here Comes Santa Claws

This male dancing fiddler crab (Uca terpsichores) has built a sand “hood” at the entrance to his burrow, which he hopes will attract females to his humble abode—as if that big beautiful claw of his weren't enough!

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The Design of a Beautiful Weapon

Three Killer whales (Orca) swim along side researchers.

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Listening for Clues About Sonar’s Effects on Marine Mammals

On coral reefs fish are important links in the food chain that sustains higher-order predators (including humans) and keeps everything in balance.

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Fish Get Risky Around Oil