video

The Smithsonian Marine Collections

A behind the scenes look at the NMNH ocean-related collections and their importance...

slideshow

A Squalodontid Success

On a beach in Piña, Panama the tide is rolling out. Faint outlines of skeletal...

Photo

Smithsonian Scientists Describe a New Fossil Whale

Monodontids, the group of whales that includes living belugas and narwhals, are...

Photo

Dugong Feeding

Dugongs, along with manatees, make up a group of marine mammals called sirenians or...

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Exploring Chile's Marine Fossil Record in the Atacama Desert

Smithsonian curator of fossil marine mammals Nick Pyenson and a team of...

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Panama Expedition Success

Paeleobiologist Dr. Nicholas Pyenson, Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals for the...

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Excavating the Fossil

Paeleobiologist Dr. Nicholas Pyenson, Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals for the...

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Dislodging the Fossil

Paeleobiologist Dr. Nicholas Pyenson, Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals for the...

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Securing the Fossil

Paeleobiologist Dr. Nicholas Pyenson, Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals for the...

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Fish Skeleton Discovery

Paeleobiologist Dr. Nicholas Pyenson, Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals for the...

Article

Flippers or Feet? An Extinct Mammal May Have Been Replaced By Today's Sea Cows

In the seagrass beds and kelp forests of the Oligocene-Miocene transition, nearly...

Article

The Whale Graveyard Whodunit

One of the ocean's tiniest organisms often does the most harm. Microscopic algae...