Sea Creatures
You Ought to See These Otters
View 15 outstanding otter images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
Journey Under the Sea With 15 Amazing Photos of Marine Life
These Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest images feature the captivating creatures that live beneath the waves
Family Accidentally Ends Up With 50 Baby Octopuses After Their Pet—Thought to Be Male—Laid Dozens of Eggs
Now, the Oklahoma residents are working with aquariums and researchers that might take the babies
Dive Into the Exotic World of Nudibranchs, the Spectacular Slugs of the Sea
Psychedelic hedgehogs, purple pineapples, living strawberries—these tiny creatures show off their big personalities off the Australian coast
Why Did Seals and Sea Lions Never Commit to a Life Fully at Sea?
While whales moved from living on land to an existence immersed in water, pinnipeds embraced an amphibious lifestyle
Shells From Captain Cook's Final Voyage Were Rescued From a Dumpster
Long presumed lost, the collection of rare shells is now on display in England
The Dugong, a Huggable, Seagrass-Loving Sea Cow, Has a New Best Friend: Drones
Keeping tabs on the species' populations is surprisingly hard. A new aerial effort tracks the marks they leave behind
Hungry Sea Otters Help Prevent Erosion on California's Coast
The marine mammals, which were once hunted nearly to extinction, feed on crabs that would make the land more susceptible to erosion by digging holes in the soil and eating roots
Biologists Discover Four New Octopus Species in the Deep Ocean Off Costa Rica
One species was found brooding eggs near low-temperature hydrothermal vents, a rare sight that could unlock new information on deep-sea cephalopods
A Starfish 'Body' Is Just One Giant Head, Study Finds
Genes associated with the torso are largely absent in a species of starfish, upending how scientists perceive these creatures
Why Ten Billion Snow Crabs Disappeared Off the Coast of Alaska
The unprecedented die-off represents roughly 90 percent of the eastern Bering Sea population
Why Do Orcas Keep Harassing Porpoises?
An endangered group of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest has been toying with porpoises for decades—and new research offers some possible explanations
Dugong Populations Are Declining in the Great Barrier Reef, Study Finds
Destruction of seagrass habitats and "indiscriminate" gillnet fishing have both contributed to the marine mammals' dropping numbers, scientists say
The Lonely Battle to Save Species on a Tiny Speck in the Pacific
As Tern Island, a former military outpost in the Hawaiian archipelago, falls apart and harms turtles, birds, seals and more, scientists wonder what’s next
Algae Is Making Sea Lions More Aggressive in California
A toxin present in algal blooms is moving through the food chain, leading to the deaths of sea lions and dolphins
Scientists Find Rare Deep-Sea Octopus Nurseries
The team captured footage of the eight-armed creatures brooding their eggs in groups near Costa Rica
What Medieval Manuscripts Reveal About the Hidden History of Whales
A clever cetacean feeding trick may have launched a legend
Red Knot Shorebird Numbers Rise in New Jersey
An independent survey counted 22,000 of the federally threatened birds, up from a historic low of 6,880 in 2021
Rare 'Technicolor' Rainbow Sea Slug Found in England
It's only the fourth record of the species in the U.K., and experts say it's a sign of warming waters due to climate change
Scientists Can Now Pull Human DNA From Air and Water, Raising Privacy Questions
Environmental DNA helps monitor elusive and endangered animals, but it could be an ethical minefield when used with humans, new study shows
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