Marine Biology

Trilobites are one of the most common creatures found in the fossil record, but now some particularly well-preserved specimens have revealed some intriguing new details. It turns out that trilobites breathed oxygen – through their legs.

It’s normally a leg here or a tail there, but scientists have now discovered one of the most extreme examples of limb regeneration ever seen in an animal – sea slugs that voluntarily detach their own heads and then regrow an entire body from it.

Scientists studying more than half a century of data on bottom-dwelling shellfish have uncovered evidence of a feedback loop in which generations of these marine creatures are becoming trapped in warmer areas that threaten their survival.

Fabien Cousteau, grandson of famed underwater filmmaker and scuba co-inventor Jacques Cousteau, is planning to build an underwater living habitat and research station three times the size of any ever built, named after the grandson of Poseidon.

Although cold waters aren't known for their coral reefs, they do contain ecologically important "glass reefs" created by live sponges. Now, scientists have discovered a previously unknown species of sponge living on those reefs, in Canada.

A new study out of the UK has revealed what plastic pollution might mean for hermit crabs, with an environment rich in microplastics seeming to affect their cognitive performance when selecting a home.

Sea turtles are one example of a creature that regularly consumes plastic trash for dinner, and a new study offers up new answers as to why revealing that they can mistake the smell of plastic for food as part of an “olfactory trap.”

Grey whales may be "blinded" by solar storms, according to a new study. The solar activity interferes with the whales’ internal magnetic navigation system, causing them to become stranded on the shore, often resulting in death.

A new survey led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) indicates that blue whales and other large whale species are making a welcome comeback in waters off South Georgia, with 55 of the critically endangered whales spotted in 2020.

A team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge have found that when cuttlefish know they're getting shrimp for dinner, they'll only have a light lunch of crabs. This ability to anticipate is an indication of the cephalopod's complex brain.

New research is shedding new light on the surprising complexity of squid brains. Using MRI scanning, researchers from the University of Queensland have produced a new map of neural connections to improve our understanding of their behavior.

Scientists have observed four new species of shark using their fins to walk across the sea floor, a motion rarely seen in the animals and one that affords them a strong advantage over the smaller creatures they prey on.