marine animal

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Blue Whales Carry Surprising Levels of Another Species' DNA

North Atlantic blue whales receiving fin whale DNA through mating with hybrid offspring

(Newser) - The blue whale population has started to recover from the devastation brought by commercial whaling in the early 20th century. But the world's largest ever animal isn't quite the same. In analyzing the genomes of Balaenoptera musculus musculus—the "most endangered" of four subspecies of blue whale,...

This Florida Park Just Welcomed Nearly 1K Manatees

Florida's Blue Spring State Park saw record 932 sea cows huddle together for warmth on Jan. 21

(Newser) - When Florida's waters cool down in the winter, its resident manatees huddle together for warmth—this year, in record numbers. On Jan. 21, Volusia County's Blue Spring State Park, which NPR dubs "one of the largest winter gathering sites for manatees" in the Sunshine State, witnessed a...

For Green Sea Turtles, a Big Problem: Too Many Girls
Pollution Has Unexpected
Effect on Green Sea Turtles
new study
Nov 27, 2023 11:48 AM CST

Pollution Has Unexpected Effect on Green Sea Turtles

Researchers say it's helping create too many females

(Newser) - For male green sea turtles, it's the second part of a double whammy they could ill afford. A new study suggests that ocean pollution is contributing to a serious gender imbalance—way too many females are being born and way too few males, reports Science Alert . As the Washington ...

Jellyfish Suggest Deep-Sea Mining Could Be a Problem
Is Jellyfish Mucus a
Warning Sign of Sorts?
discoveries
Nov 22, 2023 11:23 AM CST

Is Jellyfish Mucus a Warning Sign of Sorts?

Experiment suggests deep-sea mining could potentially hurt the creatures

(Newser) - The rush to find the minerals needed to power our batteries and other electronics has mining companies looking to the seafloor—but at what potential cost to the marine life that lives above it? A study published Tuesday in Nature Communications aimed to answer that question using jellyfish, and as...

In Canada, a Puzzler Over Great White Sharks

Five have washed up in a year, an unusually high number, and scientists are unsure what's going on

(Newser) - Earlier this month, a 14-foot great white shark washed up on a shore in Nova Scotia, Canada, and it's a head-scratcher for ocean scientists on two fronts. First, the adult shark was seemingly healthy on all fronts, and they can't determine what caused its death, reports Live Science...

Scuba Divers Rescue Baby Shark Trapped in Odd Place

Connecticut couple diving in Rhode Island found juvenile creature stuck in a work glove

(Newser) - A Connecticut couple's scuba diving trip in Rhode Island on Monday turned into a mission to rescue a baby shark. Deb and Steve Dauphinais of Glastonbury, Connecticut, were diving on the sand flats off Jamestown, Rhode Island, when Deb Dauphinais spotted the 16-inch juvenile shark with its head stuck...

Pair Accused of Trafficking Sea Cucumbers Could Get 25 Years

Zunyu Zhao, Xionwei Xiao plead guilty to illegal importation of endangered species worth $10K

(Newser) - Wildlife traffickers pleaded guilty this week in federal court in California to illegally importing endangered sea cucumbers—which are prized in China for food and medicine and as a reputed aphrodisiac—from Mexico. Zunyu Zhao and Xionwei Xiao were charged with conspiracy and illegal importation of brown sea cucumbers worth...

Aggressive Orcas Set Their Sights on Elite Yacht Race

Pod of killer whales goes after boats taking part in around-the-world Ocean Race near Spain

(Newser) - A pod of killer whales bumped one of the boats in an endurance sailing race as it approached the Strait of Gibraltar, the latest encounter in what researchers say is a growing trend of sometimes-aggressive interactions with Iberian orcas. The 15-minute run-in with at least three of the giant mammals...

Rarely Seen Fish Captured on Video


Video Catches
Rare Glimpse
of Elusive
Fish
video
May 9, 2022 11:17 AM CDT

Video Catches Rare Glimpse of Elusive Fish

Highfin dragonfish is spotted in California

(Newser) - Meet Bathophilus flemingi, better known by its more accessible name of highfin dragonfish. Scientists with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California captured video of the rarely seen creature at a depth of about 1,000 feet, thanks to a remotely operated vehicle, reports NPR . "In more than...

At Infamous 'Death Trap for Whales,' a Sad New Find

34 long-finned pilot whales found beached in mass stranding at New Zealand's Farewell Spit

(Newser) - Farewell Spit, a perhaps aptly named 16-mile stretch of sand on the remote northern end of New Zealand's South Island, is making headlines for sad news that's become commonplace there. The island nation's Department of Conservation reported on Friday that 34 long-finned pilot whales have been found...

Pet Company Yanks This Controversial Product

French firm AgroBiothers Laboratoire says putting goldfish in small round fishbowls is abuse

(Newser) - If your kids have ever won a goldfish at a local fair, you probably didn't go out and buy a huge tank, but instead purchased a tiny fishbowl that you could place almost anywhere in your home. Bad idea, some experts say, and now one pet care company won'...

This 90-Year-Old Fish Likes Belly Rubs

Australian lungfish Methuselah is believed to be world's oldest aquarium fish

(Newser) - Meet Methuselah, the fish that likes to eat fresh figs, get belly rubs, and is believed to be the oldest living aquarium fish in the world. In the Bible, Methuselah was Noah's grandfather and was said to have lived to be 969 years old. Methuselah the fish isn't...

US Marine Animals Are Drowning in Plastic—Literally

Report mentions 1.8K cases of animals consuming or being entangled in plastic since 2009

(Newser) - Plastic pollution is taking a disastrous toll on marine animals in the US, particularly those threatened with extinction, according to a new report . It tells of 1,792 cases in which 40 different species of animals consumed or were entangled in plastic since 2009. Of those, 88% involved animals that...

A Whale Rubbed Against a Boat. It Wore a Harness

Officials speculate harnessed beluga whale found off Norway escaped from Russian military facility

(Newser) - A beluga whale found with a tight harness that appeared to be Russian-made has raised the alarm of Norwegian officials and prompted speculation that the animal may have escaped from a Russian military facility. Joergen Ree Wiig of the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries says "Equipment St. Petersburg" is written...

Fishermen Threw Away a 'One-in-a-Billion' Catch
Fishermen Threw Away a
'One-in-a-Billion' Catch
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 18, 2017 5:30 PM CDT

Fishermen Threw Away a 'One-in-a-Billion' Catch

Conjoined twin porpoises found for first time

(Newser) - In all the time humans have been exploring the ocean, there have until now been just nine recorded sightings of conjoined aquatic mammals. That's only partly why the Washington Post calls a recent catch in the North Sea "a one-in-a-billion discovery." Dutch trawlers on May 30 discovered...

Narwhals 'See' Unlike Any Other Species
Narwhals 'See' Unlike
Any Other Species
NEW STUDY
Nov 10, 2016 7:25 AM CST

Narwhals 'See' Unlike Any Other Species

Directional sonar helps them find areas free of ice

(Newser) - Whales need to surface in order to breathe, and the narwhal is no different. Every four to six minutes, the Arctic whale—including males with a long tooth resembling a horn—must emerge from the depths of Baffin Bay between Baffin Island and Greenland, where 80% of all narwhals winter,...

After 445M Years, an 'Unprecedented' Shift in Our Oceans

Larger marine animals now at greater risk of extinction, study finds

(Newser) - Bigger is no longer better, at least when it comes to the extinction threat facing the animals who call our planet's oceans home. In a study published in Science on Wednesday, Stanford researchers reveal what a press release calls an "unprecedented pattern of extinction": large-bodied marine animals, not...

2 Humpbacks Saved From 'Enormously Painful' Fate

Caught in fishing lines off Mass., Calif. coastlines

(Newser) - A humpback whale off the coast of Gloucester, Mass., is lucky to be alive after a rescue team disentangled it from a slew of fishing lines, Massachusetts Environmental Police tell WCVB . The whale was first seen Wednesday morning, and by 7:30 that night, a Center for Coastal Studies team...

Cops Have Warning for 4 Who Swiped Sea Lion Pup

Sure, they're cute, but they bite hard

(Newser) - Sea lion pups might look cute, but they bite 10 times harder than dogs with mouths that are the dirtiest among mammals—meaning four people who snatched one from a Los Angeles beach early yesterday could be in for a world of hurt, an animal rescue expert says. A witness...

Whales and Dolphins May Deserve 'Personhood' Status

(Newser) - Whales and dolphins have highly evolved social structures and may deserve a “personhood” status similar to that being considered for members of the great ape family, Wired reports. The emotional and social areas of the cetacean brain are “enormously complex,” notes one researcher, “and in many...

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