If you have seen a sea robin on a dive, you’ll know that this ‘walking’ fish has a set of six legs that move rapidly
Marine Biology
Delve into the fascinating world of Marine Biology. We bring you the latest discoveries, research, and news about the diverse life forms that inhabit our oceans.
From the tiniest microorganisms to the largest marine mammals, we explore the complex ecosystems and extraordinary creatures that make the underwater world a realm of endless wonder.
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The first nudibranch known to dwell in the ocean’s bathypelagic or midnight zone, far beyond the reach of sunlight, has been described by researchers from
For those divers feeling their age on more arduous dives and wishing they could wind the clock back to their prime, don’t dismiss the possibility.
The illusionary false eyes on one little fish The waters of Wakatobi are home to a diminutive master of visual disinformation. Twin-spot signal gobies are
Hopes for the future of the pink seafan, a gorgonian familiar to divers in south-west England and south Wales, have been boosted by the news
Undeterred by those spines, it seems that some sharks find nothing more irresistible than chowing down on a sea urchin snack – and researchers at
An innovative device called HMS OCToPUS being trialled by conservation scuba divers has shown “promising signs of success”, following years of searching for effective techniques
A new species of chimaera or ghost shark has been discovered, apparently living exclusively in the deeper waters around Australia and New Zealand. The discovery
The Royal Navy has returned six rare loggerhead turtles to warm Atlantic waters, restored to health after being washed up in a “cold-shocked” condition on
Grey reef sharks are being forced to desert their natural habitats the coral reefs as high ocean temperatures cause them to bleach, according to new
It isn’t the first time Dr Richard Smith has discovered a new marine species – including the African continent’s first pygmy seahorse – but he
The celebrity beluga whale Hvaldimir, once thought to have been harnessed by Russia for military intelligence activities and closely followed by the Norwegian public over
Deep-sea lifeform rarities, 20 possible new species and a new 3km-high seamount have been found across a submerged South Pacific mountain chain during a month-long
New gene-sequencing tools have just unlocked a well-kept secret – that there are three different kinds of great white shark and, unfortunately for them, they
It’s not unknown, because Divernet reported on a similar encounter in May last year, but it’s rare enough to get marine biologists excited: a bluntnose
It’s a sight divers might hope never to see, but for the first time researchers have recorded images and data of a shark being struck
The discovery that oxygen is not only being stored but created in the unlit depths of Earth’s oceans has been described as “one of the
From a whale species never seen alive to a rare individual venturing back to former killing fields off Ireland, and a humpback unusually close to
UK charity the Shark Trust’s annual citizen-science project the Great Shark Snapshot is set to take place from 20-28 July this year. Divers and snorkellers
TV wildlife expert Steve Backshall is headlining UK charity the Shark Trust’s flagship event “For The Love Of Sharks” later this year. The celebration evening
In case you missed the memo, April is “Citizen Science Month”, prompting Plymouth-based charity the Shark Trust to step up its push to get more
A male killer whale was observed for the first time last year in the act of dispatching and extracting the liver from a great white
What have until now been the secrets of these sharks’ unique head development are revealed by GARETH J FRASER and his team at the University of
Sea spiders are neither spiders nor spider-crabs, but a marine arthropod species of the order Pantopoda, and they are found all over the world. Now
An “historic step” to protect marine life from underwater noise pollution is how the campaign body International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has welcomed new
Two humpback whales have been captured on camera in the act of copulation for the first time and, unprecedented as this was, the encounter was
An international group of scientists believe they might have discovered more than 100 new marine-life species living on seamounts in the South-eastern Pacific off the
Following them to the seabed in the Indian Ocean has revealed surprising feeding habits, says marine biologist NICOLE ESTEBAN of Swansea University Hawksbill turtles are critically
Cross-breeding between blue and fin whales has been far more prevalent than had been previously realised, and is likely to have long-term consequences for Earth’s
Few scuba divers who have dived tropical reefs, especially in the Caribbean or Coral Triangle, can fail to have come across the work of Paul
Footage showing what is thought to be the first-ever sighting of a live newborn great white shark has just been released – and marine biologists
A deep-lying coral reef off the south-eastern USA over an area of 10,000sq miles – almost the size of Albania – has been declared the
A 2.8km-deep octopus nursery, only the third known in the world, was discovered by marine scientists in July as they explored previously unseen seamounts off
A beluga whale has been sighted near Shetland – a rare sighting of the species rarely spotted south of the Arctic Circle, let alone in
For decades scuba divers in Sydney enjoyed the company of a friendly eastern blue groper reckoned to be as much as 40 years old, and
‘Then’ and ‘now’ underwater images taken by scuba divers have confirmed a dramatic instance of tissue regeneration in a silky shark, the dorsal fin of
Giant teeth from prehistoric megalodon sharks are commonly found by scuba divers or washed up on beaches in certain parts of the world, and a
Shark divers might care to take 20 minutes to watch Sharks: Older Than Trees, Lost in Our Lifetime?, a new documentary created by the Save
Dr Mark Erdmann chanced earlier this year on what has since been named a Lady Elliot shrimp goby, a species previously unknown to science. He
Much as they might be a diver favourite, their situation remains precarious, report biologists KATRINA DAVIS of the University of Oxford and RICHARD BEVAN of
The volunteer crew from RNLI Longhope were on a routine training session in Scapa Flow early on the morning of Sunday, 17 December, when they
Extra-terrestrial alien-hunters have teamed up with cetacean scientists to conduct what they say was the world’s first conversation in “whale” between humans and humpbacks –
Forget what you thought you knew about sharks – previous assumptions about how they breathe and whether they sleep have been upended by a chance
The first proof has emerged than one of the world’s biggest sharks is “ovoviviparous” – meaning that its embryos grow in eggs, nourished by the
Bottlenose dolphins have been observed “crater-feeding” – diving deep into sandy seabeds to retrieve concealed prey. Now it is thought that, while they use their
The future of the Earth’s green turtles is in serious doubt because too few males are being born to keep procreating the species – but
Blue whales have been discovered to frequent the seas around Seychelles on a seasonal basis, according to the first dedicated scientific survey to be carried
The first episode of the new six-part primetime TV documentary series Secrets Of The Aquarium, which Divernet previewed in July, hits screens tonight (14 November)
Grey whales have been experiencing major population swings as a result of changing Arctic conditions – but only now have scientists worked out why the
A new species of ringed seal called a Kangia has been described in western Greenland, according to an international collaborative study led by Finland’s University
Where would a starfish wear a hat, if it had one, and how does its body layout relate to that of its close relatives, human
When you’ve spent time in the sea, it’s always worth checking that you haven’t come ashore with any aquatic hitch-hikers. The advice is particularly relevant
Evolutionary biologists have succeeded in decoding the genetic lineage of a celebrated killer whale and a pod that once helped humans to hunt baleen whales
The world’s oldest-known living aquarium fish, the aptly named Methuselah, is even older than previously thought, her age just having been recalculated up from 84
Cryptic markings on a seabed off eastern New Zealand at depths of 450–560m have had scientists scratching their heads for the past 10 years. Researchers
Five SHIPS Project scuba divers were looking for the remains of an 18th-century shipwreck near Drake’s Island in Plymouth Sound national marine park when a
It was described as a “yellow hat” by the ROV videographer who first spotted the mystery object on a deep Gulf of Alaska seamount on
Greenland sharks can live for 400 years or more but they are very rarely seen, having long been associated with deep, cold Arctic waters. So
It’s five years since many thousands of octopuses were discovered nesting together deep off the California coast – the largest-known such aggregation on Earth. Then,
US biologist Lori Schweikert was looking at a hogfish caught in the Florida Keys when she noticed that, even though it was dead, its skin
Male killer whales are best protected from other whales if they have post-menopausal mothers – but daughters don’t get the same protection, according to new
It might come as no surprise to observant reef divers, but trumpetfish often like to swim unnaturally close to bigger fish. If those divers guessed
Scientists have been studying hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean for the past 46 years – but, beyond microbes in the sediment, they had never
The newest and potentially densest hotspot for great white sharks has been identified – and it turns out to be in northern Atlantic waters, off
By marine mammal biologist KATE SPROGIS of the University of Western Australia Sad scenes are unfolding in Western Australia after a pod of pilot whales
What must be one of the final nails to be hammered into the Loch Ness Monster’s coffin has come in the form of a new
When a veterinary pathologist and his team were called in to determine the cause of death of a sperm whale washed ashore in the Canary
An octopus nursery has been discovered by a scientific team using ROVs to explore previously unseen deep seamounts off Costa Rica. The researchers also recorded a