
Tiny alienlike blue octopus discovered lurking off the Galápagos Islands
This teensy creature was discovered along a deep-sea mountain

Tiny alienlike blue octopus discovered lurking off the Galápagos Islands
This teensy creature was discovered along a deep-sea mountain

Ocean census reveals more than 1,100 new species
Over the course of 13 expeditions and other efforts between mid-2025 and mid-2026, scientists found hundreds of previously undiscovered creatures living under the waves


These bizarre fossils represent some of the earliest moving, sexually reproducing life ever discovered
New trove of fossils reveals that ancestral animals likely emerged in the deep sea

Meet the tiny fish that looks like Mr. Snuffleupagus
A strange, tiny fish that resembles the famous Sesame Street character camouflages amid red algae thanks to its flamboyant reddish “hairs”

Meet the endangered scaly-foot snail, the most metal animal in the world
This snail became the first animal living on deep-sea hydrothermal vents to be added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species—it also turns poisonous sulfur into armor

How the war in Iran could endanger one of Earth’s most unique ecosystems
Despite decades of damage, the Persian Gulf’s ecological marvels remain—for now
Mysterious golden orb discovered two miles below the ocean surface isn’t an alien—it’s an anemone
This enigmatic orb has undergone extensive examination and DNA testing, enabling scientists to reveal its true origins

Stunning images reveal a massive coral reef for the first time in more than a century
These incredible corals form what may be one of the world’s largest reef systems—and researchers have a plan to restore it

Octopus sex is even weirder than you think
Scientists have learned how male octopuses’ specialized sperm-depositing arm knows where to go

Can a time capsule outlast geology?
A ridiculous but instructive thought experiment involving deep time, plate tectonics, erosion and the slow death of the sun

Chinese Expedition Reveals Unexplored Section of Mysterious Arctic Ocean Ridge
Oceanographers hope to find otherworldly ecosystems at hydrothermal vents on the Arctic seafloor

Dangerous Rogue Waves Aren’t Random—They’re Predictable
An 18-year dataset from the North Sea reveals that rogue waves are not freak accidents but particular products of ordinary swells stacking up—an insight that could make prediction possible