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two brittle stars in a tank
Article

Brittle Star Splits

Splitting your body in two is a feat only a few animals can complete, and now...
January 2020
Two new species of sea stars were discovered in the deep sea: Paulasterias tyleri (on the left) in a North Pacific hydrothermal vent community, and Paulasterias mcclaini (on the right) in the deep sea off the coast of Antarctica.
Personal Perspectives

The Discovery of Two Extreme Sea Stars

Recently, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History researcher Chris Mah and...
May 2015
A nudibranch showing a closeup of their fleshy, tentacle-like growths, called cerata.
Article

How Sea Slugs Steal the Defenses of Their Prey

Not all slugs (snails without shells) are slimy brown pests found in your backyard...
January 2014
Seagrasses are flowering plants that can form dense underwater meadows and are an important shallow water habitat.
Personal Perspectives

How Coastal Seagrass Feeds the Deep

It is a well-known fact that for animals living in the deep sea, food can be...
February 2013
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
Personal Perspectives

A World Adrift: Life in the Sargassum

The open ocean is surprisingly barren to the naked eye. Every now and again you...
May 2012
Nine small invertebrates held on two fingers.
Personal Perspectives

On Biodiversity: Understanding its Meaning and Importance

The ocean is home to a phenomenal diversity of marine organisms. They have evolved...
August 2011
A zoomed-in image of the crown-of-thorns sea star.
Article

A Plague of Sea Stars

Sea stars are important members of marine ecosystems, especially in the tropics. We...
May 2011
A tiny larval (baby) starfish.
Personal Perspectives

The Invisible Loss: The Impacts of Oil You Do Not See

Since late April, the world has watched a devastating oil spill from a BP drilling...
June 2010
A bright-green sea slug with a black background.
audio

Sea Slugs: One Species at a Time

Come one, come all! See the amazing, the astonishing, half-animal, half-plant!...
Mon, 07/11/2011 - 14:12
A brittle star clings to the branches of a deep sea coral

A Brittle Star May Be a Coral’s Best Friend

Five thousand feet (1,524 meters) beneath the sea in the Gulf of Mexico, an...
August 2017
A decomposing sea star loses its grip on a rock.
Article

Sickly Starfish: A Q&A with Dr. Chris Mah

Since summer 2013, starfish along both coasts of the United States have been dying...
December 2013
Colorful corals and brittlestars on Manning Seamount off the New England coast.
Article

Seamounts: Underwater Oases

Thousands of seamounts—most of them undersea volcanoes—tower above the muddy...
December 2009
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