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Form Equals Function for Ancient Sea Lizards and Modern Whales

In the ocean there once lived a creature built for predatory prowess. It had teeth...

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Meals of the Mighty Mosasaur

Between 100 and 65 million years ago, at the time when dinosaurs reigned on land,...

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If You Build An Ocean, Sea Monsters Will Come

Building a productive ocean is complicated. The process is long (on the order of...

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An App Helps Scientists Combat Illegal Fish Trade

Relationships often begin with the locking of eyes. For Yvonne Sadovy, it was a...

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What the Megalodon Left Behind

The largest shark ever to exist on this planet, Carcharocles megalodon, could grow...

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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 An Extinct Mammal May Have Been Replaced By Today's Sea Cows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...

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Unearthing History: Mary Anning's Hunt for Prehistoric Ocean Giants

You may not have realized it, but you’ve been acquainted with Mary Anning since...

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Looking for Love? Online Dating Under the Sea

Love is in the air at the National Museum of Natural History! Our scientists are...

Personal Perspectives

Microbes Help Corals Pick a Home and Settle Down

Bacteria are everywhere in the ocean. They live in the water, on virtually every...

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Taking the Temperature of the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle

The Kemp’s ridley is a “riddler” among sea turtles. Although the species was...

Personal Perspectives

Watching for Fish in the Puffin's Beak

In recent years, I have taken to watching flying fish along the Maine coast. Not...

Personal Perspectives

How Hurricanes Shape Wetlands in Southern Louisiana

We all know that hurricanes can have destructive effects on human communities and...