Category: Marine Biology

Marine Marine Biology Oceans Shark Sharks

Fish are friends, not food: Meet the world’s first known omnivorous shark

sudshr47 September 5, 2018

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It’s not exactly as vegetarian as Finding Nemo‘s Bruce, but this grass-eating shark could come close to taking the “fish are friends, not food” pledge.

Researchers claim they’ve identified the world’s first known omnivorous shark, which eats both underwater animals and plants. 

In a new study published by researchers at the University of California-Irvine and Florida International University, the bonnethead shark, which dwells in seagrass meadows off the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts, was found to be not solely carnivorous, as previously thought — it’s been sighted having a good nom on that seagrass on multiple occasions. Read more…

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Animals Marine Biology Marine Wildlife Ocean Life Wildlife

The discovery of the first known manta ray nursery was a happy accident

sudshr47 June 22, 2018

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The world’s first confirmed manta ray nursery was found thanks to some good luck.

Marine scientist Joshua Stewart, was working to connect the dots between manta ray populations that live near each other at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

What he found instead, according to a new study published in Marine Biology, was something he had barely seen in his seven years of manta ray research: a juvenile manta ray.

“On my very first dive, I saw a manta right away. [Researchers at Flower Garden Banks] had already told me that the rays there were small, so I wasn’t shocked,” Stewart said in an interview.  Read more…

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Deep Sea Marine Biology Natural History Oceans Science

Strange, alien-looking deep sea creatures revealed in new ocean videos

sudshr47 June 5, 2018

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While traversing the seafloor in a pressurized bubble 3,200 feet beneath the ocean, marine photographer Gavin Thurston spotted an odd creature, about the size of a football. 

“It looked like a mix of four animals,” said Thurston.

He shone a light on it, for a better view.  

“Clearly this beasty — whatever it was — didn’t like the light,” he said, and it danced away on its silken thread-like legs, out of the glow. 

It appeared to be a sponge, but covered in siphons, like pistons in a car engine thrusting up and down. It wore a crown of tentacles, which grabbed tiny critters out of the water. Read more…

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Galapagos Marine Biology Oceans Science

We all need a little hug: Skates found to warm their eggs near deep-sea volcanic vents

sudshr47 February 8, 2018

In the summer of 2015, scientists lowered a deep-sea exploration robot down 5,800 feet to the ocean floor off the Galapagos Islands. The pitch black world here is mysterious, so scientists expected to discover things never before seen.
“Every time we…

View More We all need a little hug: Skates found to warm their eggs near deep-sea volcanic vents