Thought to have been long extinct, scientists discovered these "living fossils" in 1938. The primitive-looking coelacanth (pronounced SEEL-uh-kanth) was thought to have gone extinct with the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But its discovery in 1938 by a South African museum curator ...
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Looking like something out of a science fiction movie, the anglerfish uses a natural lure to draw its next meal nearer. The angry-looking deep sea anglerfish has a right to be cranky. It is quite possibly the ugliest animal on the planet, and it lives in what is easily Earth's ...
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Sockeye salmon are known for their bright red skin, but are actually blue while in the ocean. Only when they return to freshwater to spawn do they turn red. The name sockeye comes from a poor attempt to translate the wordsuk-kegh from British Columbia's native Coast Salish ...
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Leafy sea dragons are brown to yellow in body color and are more ornately adorned than the reddish colored weedies. Sea dragons are some of the most ornately camouflaged creatures on the planet. Adorned with gossamer, leaf-shaped appendages over their entire bodies, they are ...
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The fastest fish in the ocean, sailfish can reach speeds of 68 miles (110 kilometers) per hour. Their large size and spirited fight make them a favorite among trophy fishers. The two main subspecies of sailfish, Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, range throughout the warm and temperate ...
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A streamlined torpedo shape helps flying fish generate enough speed to break the water’s surface, and large, wing-like pectoral fins help get them airborne. Flying fish can be seen jumping out of warm ocean waters worldwide. Their streamlined torpedo shape helps them gather enough ...
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As their name suggests, boa constrictors slowly squeeze their prey to death. Boa constrictors wear some of the most distinctive markings of all reptiles. Depending on the habitat they are trying to blend into, their bodies can be tan, green, red, or yellow, and display cryptic ...
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While no eastern coral snake-related deaths have been reported since the late 1960s, untreated bites can lead to cardiac arrest. A bite from the notoriously venomous eastern coral snake at first seems anticlimactic. There is little or no pain or swelling at the site of the bite, ...
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The largest snakes in the world, anacondas can grow to 550 pounds (227 kilograms). Member of the boa family, South America’s green anaconda is, pound for pound, the largest snake in the world. Its cousin, the reticulated python, can reach slightly greater lengths, but the enormous ...
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Green sea turtles are reptiles whose ancestors evolved on land and took to the sea to live about 150 million years ago. They are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct. The green turtle is a large, weighty sea turtle with a ...
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The plaintive song of the humpback whale can travel for great distances underwater. Humpback whales are known for their magical songs, which travel for great distances through the world's oceans. These sequences of moans, howls, cries, and other noises are quite complex and often ...
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Resembling a small primate but actually related to the raccoon, the Central and South American kinkajou uses its long tongue to remove honey from beehives and nectar from flowers. Kinkajous live in the tropical forests of Central and South America, where they spend most of their ...
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Sacred to ancient Mesoamerican people, gorgeously plumed quetzals live in the mountains of Central America. The resplendent quetzal is an aptly named bird that many consider among the world's most beautiful. These vibrantly colored animals live in the mountainous, tropical forests ...
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Bobcats, named for their "bobbed" tails, have ears that resemble their feline cousin, the lynx. Bobcats are elusive and nocturnal, so they are rarely spotted by humans. Although they are seldom seen, they roam throughout much of North America and adapt well to such diverse habitats ...
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