Marine Animals
This coral reef gets bombed every 62 minutes. And it’s changing the way the ocean sounds
Researchers studied the frequency and impacts of bomb fishing, an illegal fishing practice, in the Spermonde Archipelago
"It causes a pearl’s surface to reflect light while giving it a translucent lustre. This pearlescent quality is the pearl's most beautiful feature…"
From what they're made of and how they form to what give pearls their colour, here is everything you need to know about beautiful and sought after, natural pearls
"A female that's around 8cm can produce 1 million larvae, while larger individuals can produce as many as 2 million larvae in a single event"
Also known as the European flat oyster, this humble mollusc used to be a vital aspect of London's food trade and is deemed to be an ecosystem engineer. Learn more in our expert guide from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
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"That’s the length of a double-decker bus!" 30ft titan tops biggest dolphins in the world list
From the mighty orca to the enigmatic Risso’s dolphin, these individuals remind us that the dolphin family is far more diverse - and far more impressive - than we may realise.
‘Golden trees’ over 1m tall discovered deep in Pacific Ocean
An extraordinary new coral species resembling a gilded tree has been found off the coast of Costa Rica.
Sea muppets look just like seahorses – but they are not really seahorses at all...
The body form of the fish we know as the seahorse has evolved multiple times in the same family
“I had to do a double take." Marine biologists peered into a shark egg and were astounded by what they saw
In spring 2025, researchers documented the first confirmed case of identical twins in small spotted catsharks.
“In places, you couldn't see a single rock because everything is so densely populated… ” Deep sea scientists find something staggering in the Pacific
A remotely operated vehicles found never-before-seen hydrothermal activity on the seabed in Papua New Guinea.
What animal has the biggest brain? Clue – it's 5 times bigger than a human's
Did you know the largest brain of an animal weighs a whopping 7.8kg? But which animal does it belong to?
"Its sting can cause vomiting and existential dread, and can kill within five minutes..." 10 most dangerous, deadliest animals in the Pacific ocean
From cone snails to crocs, be wary of these deadly marine animals – all found in the Pacific Ocean
It’s longer than a double-decker bus, weighs the same as five elephants and found in every ocean – yet hardly anyone has ever seen them…
Learn all about the little-known Bryde whale - including why they're rarely seen
It’s tiny and virtually invisible, yet it can cause blinding pain and severe illness in humans, potentially leading to life-threatening complications
You don't want bump into one of these when swimming...
It weighs the same as 2 grizzly bears and can be aged like a tree – meet the ocean giant that hurtles through the ocean at 44 miles per hour
Bluefin tuna are impressive fish – the largest on record was a 679 kg bluefin caught off the coast of Canada in 1979. But did you know these big beasts start off at just the size of an eyelash?
"It's bigger than a full-size snooker table and has a 40cm-long stinging spine."10 most fearsome, deadly river monsters, including a grisly giant leech
Freshwater holds fewer deadly surprises than the sea - rivers, lakes and streams are places of peaceful serenity. Or are they...?
It's the size of a double-decker bus and weighs a mighty 7 tonnes. Meet the ocean giant that cruises - through the oceans
Basking sharks are the second largest shark species in the world. They feed on microscopic animals called zooplankton.
"I started screaming." Scientists were filming dolphins in Australia, when this happened
Dolphins have been filmed catching fish with seashells for the first time ever.
Crab vs lobster – They look similar… but what actually makes a crab a crab – and a lobster a lobster?
Just how do crabs differ from lobsters? Stuart Blackman explains
"It looks like an alien and can cause cardiac arrest within minutes…" 14 deadly, highly dangerous beach animals you could encounter on the sand
Some are stepped on without warning. Others wash up looking like harmless shells or marine litter. One curious touch can mean agonising pain, paralysis, and even death.
Photographer has astonishing leopard shark encounter in enchanted kelp forest
A diver shares his magical moment with leopard sharks in the twinkling canopies of a kelp forest.
When experts tagged diving whales, they discovered something astonishing about their song
For the first time, researchers have matched an entire whale song to an entire dive – and found the song changes in step with what the whale’s body is doing underwater
Joel Sartore has photographed 18,000 species. His latest is one of the weirdest and rarest yet
After a decade of photographing animals around the world, Joel Sartore has captured his 18,000th species: the critically endangered red handfish.
When scientists put a camera tag on a whale, they never expected to see this
When NOAA researchers used suction-cup tags to study cetaceans, they caught the incredible moment a whale breached.
"Its bristles are like thousands of tiny, hollow needles poking out of every inch of skin, ready to inject you with neurotoxin that burns like fire for several hours…"
A sting burns like fire and they can turn their throat inside out to gobble down a meal. This is the fireworm
Staggering drone footage shows 24m giants speeding through Indonesian waters
Wildlife watchers were lucky enough to be joined by three pygmy blue whales.
