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Japanese scientists videotaped this female giant squid, alive, at the water's surface

overview

Giant Squid

Giant squid live up to their name: the largest giant squid ever recorded by...

April 2018

painting of squid pulling sailor underwater

video

Clyde Roper On the Over-Sized Anatomy of the Giant Squid

Dr. Clyde Roper discusses the fascinating anatomy of the giant squid (Architeuthis...

Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:57

Thumbnail of a cartoonish octopus.

video

Why the Octopus Brain is so Extraordinary

An octopus is a lot brainier than you might imagine considering one of its closest...

Thu, 11/02/2017 - 09:54

X-ray image of a winghead shark

slideshow

X-Rays of Fish Reveal Diversity

Scientists in the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian's National Museum of...

Thu, 12/17/2009 - 18:00

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

Article

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

In the frigid Arctic Ocean, a mysterious toothed whale—the narwhal— resides...

August 2017

Sea lions generate thrust, or forward propulsion, by bringing their fore-flippers together in big sweeping motions called “claps.” When a sea lion “claps,” it stretches its flippers out to the sides and sweeps them down. Then it tucks its flippe

How Do Sea Lions Swim?

A family of tourists in Canada’s Steveston Harbor recently got a treat when a...

June 2017

This common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) shows off its siphon, which it uses to propel itself through the water.

Photo

Octopus Shows Off Its Funnel

This common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) doesn't have a jetpack to help him zoom...

Comb jellies (such as this Bolinopsis species) are named for their combs: the rows of cilia lining their bodies that propel them through the ocean.

Photo

Ctenophore Combs - Close Up

Comb jellies (such as this Bolinopsis species) are named for their combs: the rows...

In the X-ray image of this Viper Moray Eel (Enchelynassa canina), note the second set of jaws in the “throat”; these are the gill arches, which are present in all fish.

Photo

X-Ray Image of a Viper Moray Eel

In the X-ray image of this Viper Moray Eel (Enchelynassa canina), note the second...

Tropical hatchetfish, like the one shown in this X-ray photograph, live in the dark depths of the ocean. Like many other deep-sea fishes, they have large eyes and bioluminescent spots on their bellies.

Photo

X-Ray Image of a Tropical Hatchetfish

Tropical hatchetfish (Argyropelecus lychnus), like the one shown in this X-ray...

A right whale opens wide, revealing huge plates of baleen hanging from its upper jaw.

Photo

Right Whale Baleen

A right whale opens its mouth wide, revealing huge plates of baleen hanging from...

An image of a squid radula from a scanning electron micrograph.

Photo

Close-up of Giant Squid’s Radula

This image from a scanning electron micrograph magnifies the tiny teeth that cover...