HowStuffWorks Newsletter
Learn about some of the some of the most bizzare marine life under the sea, such as Sea Squirts, sponges and even Sea Monkeys.
More Animals Topics to Explore:
Yes, this terrifying worm was named after the infamous Bobbitt case. And with good reason.
These two sea creatures can be easy to confuse. But they're actually quite different. We talked to experts to find out how to tell them apart.
By Wendy Bowman
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.
By Wendy Bowman
Advertisement
A bright pink manta ray named Inspector Clouseau is causing a splash on the runway of the Great Barrier Reef.
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.
By Wendy Bowman
What sea creature looks like a spiny pincushion and is considered a delicacy to gastronomes around the world? Yep, the sea urchin.
By Jeremy Glass
Is that a dolphin pancreas? Some extremely firm manatee vomit? Nope, it's sea pork!
Advertisement
The single-celled Mesodinium chamaeleon harnesses algae, which lives inside it, for energy.
By Loraine Fick
The Dumbo octopus is just one of the amazing creatures filmed by the most recent voyage of the E/V Nautilus.
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.
You can't tell a book by its cover, and you can't tell a squid by its Nosferatu getup.
Advertisement
Sea spiders don't do anything by the book, and researchers have just gotten to the bottom of how they breathe.
By incorporating algae into their bodies, these beautiful sea slugs become one of the few animals with the photosynthetic ability of a plant.
By Amanda Onion
Crocodiles are known to eat just about anything. But sharks? A scientific team found evidence that they've chowed down on those predators too.
By Mark Mancini
The magnificent bryozoan is a colonial organism that lives in warm ponds and lakes usually east of the Mississippi River. So what's it doing in western Canada?
Advertisement
If you thought this underwater creeper looked heartless, you're actually not that far off.
By Chris Opfer
How squid brains process their external visual skin communication is fascinating, complex, and unlike anything in the vertebrate world.
It's not easy being a starfish larva. Fortunately, the tiny creatures have an efficient way to get food and swim away.
By Alia Hoyt
It sounds crazy, but it's happened before, and it'll probably happen again.
Advertisement
New fossil analysis details a microscopic organism from 540 million years ago that just might be a precursor to every vertebrate on the planet.
Turns out that strange sound may be minke whales getting vocal in the deep ocean.
Western Australia Museum is hosting a naming contest for this fascinating new nudibranch species.
Advertisement
Whether they're busting open a child-proof medicine bottle or prying apart Mr. Potato Head, octopuses have some crazy brains. Actually, they have nine of them.
By Julia Layton
The Mariana Trench is the deepest place on Earth, and we're still in the dark about much of the life that calls it home. Here are just a few of the trench's eye-popping residents.