A super dense, briny pool of water lies at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, fatal to all but a few shrimp, bacteria, and tube worms. The density of the pool is what keeps it confined below the rest of the water.
I’d recommend staying out of the pool!
And the award for cutest cuttlefish relative goes to…the Googly-eyed Stubby Squid! What will compete for top place in my heart next? The ocean never fails to amaze. What a strange eye evolution. You have to wonder what purpose those googles serve.
http://www.nautiluslive.org/video/2016/08/12/googly-eyed-stubby-squid
An incredibly neat and rare sighting of a megamouth shark has been confirmed in the Philippines. They are related to the basking shark and feed off of plankton and jellyfish. Not much is known about their range because they are so rarely seen in the wild.
I imagine they probably don’t have huge population numbers, and reside in the vast stretches of open ocean rarely traversed by humans, like the middle of the Indian Ocean and Southern Pacific.
http://qz.com/335068/a-rare-megamouth-shark-just-washed-up-in-the-philippines
Great ID work! Killifish are a very interesting family. A challenge to keep in captivity, and often quite beautiful!
Joel from Nova Scotia caught some small fish and asked us what species they were. 
Any guesses before I answer Joel?
OK Joel, thanks for the question. This species is known as the mummichog. It’s a member of the topminnow or killifish family. It’s scientific name is Fundulus heteroclitus. They are small fish usually less than 5 inches and can show up with gorgeous white and yellow spots over a green, tan body. The females are typically larger, paler, and drabber. The males can have vivid coloration especially in the breeding season.
Mummichog live in shallow marsh habitats. They are extremely abundant in these marsh areas of the western Atlantic. They are very hardy and can survive in difficult conditions with high temperatures, pollution, or low oxygen levels. They will eat just about anything that can fit in their mouth, dead or alive. Being small, they are a very important prey species to…
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http://www.weather.com/video/shark-mystery-whats-eating-great-whites-49772
Mysterious death of a tagged Great White Shark has scientists scrambling for answers. Was is just a simple case of cannibalism, or is there something HUGE living at 1900ft. (I think it may be the latter, and that would be really awesome to document!)
Look at this incredible specimen! It is astounding how large this family of fish can get if left to live full lives. It is interesting to note that many of the recent large catches have been around the bases of offshore oil rigs. Would make for an interesting study of a microhabitat in the immediate vicinity of rigs.
Source: http://www.ketknbc.com/news/outdoors/texas-angler-hauls-in-monster-fish
What happens when a whale washes up the Jersey shore? You tag it bro. Claim it off the streets! I hope they truly enjoy these ‘spoils’!
http://gawker.com/some-jersey-frat-bros-apparently-tagged-a-dead-whale-1570828786
From polyp to medusa and back. The Jellyfish’s life is circular in all aspects
Could the lowly jellyfish hold the secrets to immortality?
Possibly. Scientists have recently discovered that many jellyfish are made of cells that live much longer than those found in any other organism.
How is this possible? Well my theory is that the telomeres in the DNA are much longer or are much less truncated during cell replication, which leads to longer cell life and improved replication integrity. However, the fact that jellies have very few ‘moving parts’ that wear out is also a valid postulation. They are simple and elegant creatures which possess only what they need to survive. That sounds like a recipe for success to me!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/can-a-jellyfish-unlock-the-secret-of-immortality.html
A local news outlet in Oahu, Hawaii is reporting that a dead dolphin washed ashore with a twist – there are signs of an attack from a rarely seen deep water shark! There’s no definitive reason for cause of death – usually the victims of this stealthy shark go on to live full lives, sporting a trademark and slightly disturbing scar as a souvenir of their encounter. It could have been the last straw on what was already a stressful day for this dolphin…
I think that it would have been really cool to see this interaction, er, attack on the dolphin by the elusive Cookie Cutter Shark, which literally takes plugs of flesh out of its prey with the aforementioned cookie cutter like mouth.
Here’s more on the shark and the original story
Apparently, you can find Nessie via Apple Map’s satellite view feature. Whether or not this is true is up for you to decide, but I will warn ardent believers that this is likely the work of a mischievous programmer or an image sensor error. As a biologist, not sure if Nessie is supposed to resemble a giant Sturgeon.
UPDATE: As if you really needed this to be debunked by someone, this is just the wake of a ship that frequents the lake on tours. Nessie is safe once more!
Fin Flapper 