r/marinebiology

Smelly worm things that seemed to be decomposing, oily substance around them.

This was 50 miles offshore off the coast of Venice, Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.

It looked to be about 7 feet and seemed to weigh around 150 pounds. That’s what my dad guessed anyway and he fishes quite a lot!

Howdy everyone, salut tout le monde! I'm a MSc. MARRES student at Université Côte d'Azur and I've designed this research initiative exploring how best to share the adventures and issues facing our ocean. Your answers help us understand how different people engage with, learn from, and connect emotionally to ocean science in different ways.

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i was freediving and found this partially buried in the sand about 50m from the shore. does anyone know what this could be? thanks in advance!

I went out fishing on Friday and we saw tons of dolphins! Saw a couple pods of spinner dolphins and some pods of what I assume are Atlantic spotted dolphins.

Then we came across this pod that looks like it has mostly Atlantic spotted dolphins with a couple of bottle nose dolphins that are also part of the pod! You can see the two swimming side by side at the beginning of the video.

This was 50 miles offshore in the gulf, off the coast of Venice, Florida.

I didn’t know that dolphins mixed pods like this! Is that really what’s going on?

Hey everyone!

I’m currently out on the Greek side of Cyprus (shoutout from the boat! 🇨🇾) and spotted something fascinating today, April 20th. I’ll be the first to admit that while I’m a huge fan of Vertebrata, my ichthyology skills aren't quite at expert level yet. However, I’ve had the chance to rub elbows with some researchers, so I’ve picked up a few scientific terms along the way—I just can't quite piece the puzzle together for this specific sighting.

I saw these fish right at the surface. At first glance, they almost reminded me of flatfish because of their movement, but that doesn't make sense given they were nowhere near the benthos. They seemed to be swimming high in the water column, almost as if they were tilted or on their backs, showing off a striking silvery-grey sheen.

I’ve tried to narrow it down using a bit of an "exclusion method," ruling out the typical bottom-feeders. Based on the morphology and the fact that they are common in these waters, I’m looking at these taxa—though I’d love for someone with more "fish-brain" to tell me if I’m totally off track:

Family: Carangidae (Slægt: Trachinotus): These definitely have that silver brilliance and are known for being active in the upper water layers.

Family: Kyphosidae: I’ve considered these, though they are usually a bit more "stout."

Family: Sparidae (Slægt: Oblada): Specifically Oblada melanura. They are super common here and often school near the surface, showing those silver flashes.

I’ve ruled out things like Mullus or Diplodus because the behavior just doesn't fit the habitat I observed.

Does anyone recognize this "swimming on the side/back" behavior for species in the Levantine Sea? I’m dying to know if I’m hitting the right families or if I should look into something like Exocoetidae or something even more niche.

Huge thanks in advance—staying curious is half the fun! 🐟✨

Never seen this before, blue lined chiton seems close but the pattern doesnt match. Thanks! ​

No black tips to the dorsal fin so i’m not sure if it’s a blue runner

Do y'all think it's brook, velvet, nocardia, or mycobacterium? I think the last two slides could be just crystallized saltwater but correct me if I'm wrong. (Btw my ruby reef rally pro is arriving today)

Never posted here before by the way so I’m uncertain if art is allowed. Does this technically count as nature appreciation though?

I remember this like it was yesterday.
It wasn't the first time I saw a cuttlefish, but it was the first time I genuinely felt in the presence of a curious, self-conscious creature.

I was out on a solo dive on the house reef (those dives were the ones I loved most: no one around, no one to watch out for. Just me, myself and my camera). I was approaching 100 minutes on the clock and was considering turning back, even if I still had half a tank (it was a shallow dive, max 6-ish meters deep) when I saw it hovering above the corals. I swear it was looking at me not quite unlike I was looking at it. I approached it really slowly, and it showed no fear whatsoever. It approached me slowly as well. I've read the stories about how cuttlefish and octopuses are intelligent, some even dare to go as far as sentient, beings, but I had never─until now─actually felt this myself. I've also read the stories about how most think that interactions with divers (photographers) would('ve) be(en) because the cuttlefish or octopus sees its reflection in the lens.
I'm 100% sure that wasn't the case here, considering I had a macro lens on the camera AND I had the camera down. It was approaching me, not the camera.

It approached me well within reach of my hand. I didn't raise my hand. I just hovered there looking at it. And wondering what was going through its... mind? ...
It sounds strange to say that, but the way it looked at me, it almost felt like it was thinking the same. What is that thing, and what is going through its... mind? ...

The only reason I know how long this lasted, is because I checked my dive computer after some time, and that some time had been nearly 20 minutes.
We hovered there just looking at each other, mesmerized with each other.
I slowly raised my camera, and I may have raised my eyebrow at it in a─sort of─"may I?" gesture and it allowed me to shoot a series of wonderful pictures. When I finished the series I may have nodded as to say thank you and goodbye and slowly returned to shore.

It even put on a few different outfits on the go. Similarly to octopuses they can change colour and the shape and patterns on their skin at will.
Fascinating creatures, they are.

Broadclub cuttlefish - Sepia latimanus

Nikon D800 in Ikelite housing, Tamron 90mm, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/11, Ikelite DS161 / Ikelite DS51 strobes.

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