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Marine Life
Marine life includes an incredible and vibrant array of wild animals that live in the ocean. From tiny phytoplankton to massive blue whales, marine life is a vital source of food, energy and life for the entire planet.
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'Roly-poly' Bugs Are Great Garden Composters
Roly-poly bugs are natural soil conditioners because they process decomposing matter, helping keep your garden soil clean and healthy. And — fun fact — they're crustaceans, not insects.
7 Reasons a Cuttlefish May Be Smarter Than You
This master of camouflage can count, gender-bend and also use a hidden weapon to outsmart its enemies.
Some Starfish Have Up to 40 Arms! Plus 10 Other Starfish Facts
What lives in water, has no gills, scales or fins and is not a fish? Yep, a starfish — which is why marine biologists have renamed these creatures sea stars.
Meet Inspector Clouseau, Australia's Neon Pink Manta Ray
A bright pink manta ray named Inspector Clouseau is causing a splash on the runway of the Great Barrier Reef.
How These Hot-pink Slugs Outlasted the Australian Brush Fires
Proactive sluggishness, along with the ability to squeeze into tight spaces, keeps these slugs safe from predators like birds, toads and, well, fires.
Seahorses Have Hotels! Plus 9 Other Amazing Seahorse Facts
Dwindling natural habitats are causing a significant decline in certain seahorse species. To bolster populations, researchers in Australia are building seahorse hotels and leaving the lights on.
Sea Urchins Are the Edible Pincushions of the Ocean
What sea creature looks like a spiny pincushion and is considered a delicacy to gastronomes around the world? Yep, the sea urchin.
Geoducks: The World's Most NSFW Mollusk
These saltwater clams are the largest on the planet, and some can live as long as 100 years. And despite their, well, looks, they're pretty darn tasty.
Tracking Down the Elusive Giant Squid
Rumors of giant squid have terrified sailors for centuries, but new technology is now helping to bring these mysterious creatures up toward the light.
Box Jellyfish: World's Most Venomous Sea Creature
Most jellyfish are more bothersome than threatening, but the box jellyfish is so poisonous you might not make it out of the water alive.
That Blob on the Beach Is Sea Pork
Is that a dolphin pancreas? Some extremely firm manatee vomit? Nope, it's sea pork!
Coconut Crabs: Crustaceans on Steroids
The biggest land-dwelling arthropod can crack into everything from coconuts to carcasses, but they're also really vulnerable.
This Organism Is Part Plant and Part Animal
The single-celled Mesodinium chamaeleon harnesses algae, which lives inside it, for energy.
Chainsaw Lobster Among New Deep-sea Species Found in Java Sea
The first-ever deep-sea exploration of West Java seas netted more than 12,000 marine creatures, including some new species of crabs, prawns and lobsters.
Ghostly, Adorable Dumbo Octopus Spotted by Deep Sea Rover
The Dumbo octopus is just one of the amazing creatures filmed by the most recent voyage of the E/V Nautilus.
Sea Cucumber: Animal or Vegetable?
The kindest thing you can say about a sea cucumber's physique is that it looks very much like a large hoagie bun dressed in a lumpy old sweater.
Stinging 'Sea Lice' Invading Atlantic Beaches
Sea lice aren't actually lice — they're jellyfish — but they're no fun when they get in your bathing suit.
Vampire Squid Don't Actually Suck Blood
You can't tell a book by its cover, and you can't tell a squid by its Nosferatu getup.
Sea Spiders Breathe Through Pores in Their Legs
Sea spiders don't do anything by the book, and researchers have just gotten to the bottom of how they breathe.
Eternal Sunshine of the Snail Mind?
Researchers have successfully used RNA to transfer a memory from one sea snail to another.
Sea Slugs Go Solar by Stealing From Algae
By incorporating algae into their bodies, these beautiful sea slugs become one of the few animals with the photosynthetic ability of a plant.
How Do Snails Get Their Shells?
Snails can't pick and choose their shells like hermit crabs can. In fact, eviction means death. So how do those hard shells form over snails?
Boiling Lobsters Alive Is Cruel, Says Swiss Government
To boil or not to boil ... that is the question.
Jaws and Claws: Alligators Eat Small Sharks More Often Than We Thought
Crocodiles are known to eat just about anything. But sharks? A scientific team found evidence that they've chowed down on those predators too.
Jellyfish Don't Have Brains, But They Still Sleep
Don't think you have much in common with a jellyfish? What researchers just discovered may surprise you.
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