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Really, one of the key issues with sushi is that it doesn't glow under black light. To solve that problem, the Center for Genomic Gastronomy is using genetically modified fishies from the pet store to create tasty treats that will be perfect for your next rave. More »
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Science is always good for an awesomely counter-intuitive finding, and this one has to be the mother of them all. Despite the fact that life itself originally came from the sea, the same can't be said of the ocean's current occupants. More »
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Nebraska's Hastings Museum recently commissioned Staab Studios to build a model of a bony prehistoric predator from the genus Xiphactinus. Staab helpfully recorded their progress sculpting this beast in silent repose. If you ever need to build an extinct underwater horror for your rumpus room, this video is a good place to start. More »
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Male splitfins wriggle about the yellow streak on their tail as part of their mating dance. Females are attracted to the wriggling tail because it looks like their typical prey. There's only one problem: the females then forget to eat. More »
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To adapt to their eternally dark surroundings, Mexican cavefish have gone blind, lost their pigment, and changed their sleep cycle. You can see one in the photo up top. Here's the weird thing though...all those fish are the same species. More »
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Climate change might turn lizards into geniuses, but fish won't be quite so lucky. All the billions of tons of carbon dioxide that enters the oceans each year is like alcohol for fish, turning them into risk-taking idiots. More »
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The mimic octopus is a stealthy swimmer (and a furious lover) but it's not the only master of disguise in the ocean. While swimming off of the coast of Indonesia last July, diver Godehard Kopp noticed that a black-marble jawfish was surreptitiously hitching a ride with the mimic octopus. More »
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Many bacteria found at the bottom of the ocean glow in the dark thanks to light generated by their internal chemical reactions. This makes it easier for fish to see and eat them — which is exactly what the bacteria want. More »
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When we domesticate animals, we alter their evolutionary development to favor the traits that we find most desirable. Usually, that process takes hundreds, even thousands of years. But fish hatcheries can scramble a species' genetics in a single generation. More »
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You might think that democracies work best when people care and know about the key issues. But a new study argues that for a democracy to function at all, you need lots of ignorant people blindly siding with the majority. More »
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Supernormal stimuli make birds ignore their eggs (and then their chicks), cause fish to fight dummies (while live competitors go uncontested), and can drive humans back to sugary snacks. Find out how these special stimuli use just the right trigger to make an animal destroy itself. More »
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Hundreds of millions of years ago, the first land animals emerged, facing new challenges unlike any their aquatic ancestors had experienced. But their marine predecessors had solved one big problem for living on land: they already knew how to walk. More »
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As global temperatures rise and the oceans heat up, a huge question is how fish that are adapted to one set of temperatures will survive this upheaval. Now we know at least one species could adapt fast enough to survive. More »
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Guppies have been a separate species for 500,000 years, and during that time their color has changed drastically. But one thing has stayed the same: an orange patch on males. This is quite possibly the most romantic adaptation ever. More »
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When animals practice monogamy, we can generally tell right away. After all, couples like to hang out together, whether they're humans or squirrels or hawks. But one fish keeps its monogamy so top-secret that researchers actually called their pairings "invisible." More »
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A stickleback is heading for a warm bath. While its peers prefer to swim in lukewarm water at around 16 degrees Celsius, this individual likes it hotter. That's not because of a personal preference – instead, it is being steered by a parasite. A tapeworm has lodged in its guts, and it needs warmer temperatures to grow as large as possible. The stickleback becomes little more than a living car that drives the worm to the heated pools that it prefers. More »
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It's not exactly a secret that many humans derive pleasure from massages, and previous research has shown other primates enjoy it as well. And now, we've found the first non-primate to use massages to relieve stress: the surgeonfish. More »
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As sea temperatures rise, many fish species will have to relocate to find waters that can support them. But they won't have a lot of time to look for the right new home. For fish, it's survival of the fastest. More »
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The old idea of Neanderthals as a species of brutish primitives has already been pretty well exploded, but this is as good a nail in the coffin as any: Neanderthals were treating themselves to fancy foods 250,000 years ago. More »
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Well this is unsettling. The fish you're looking at was recently caught in an Argentinian reservoir lake. The thing is, it's a reservoir lake that a nearby nuclear facility just happens to pump water into on a regular basis, meaning this is one of those rare examples where a three-eyed animal isn't cool. More »
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For better or worse, agriculture is quite possibly humanity's defining development, allowing people to settle down in one place and build the complex civilizations that we live in today. But ancient humans weren't totally sure about this whole agriculture thing. More »
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Humans are one of 60,000 species that share a 500 million year old common ancestor. This creature was the ancestor of almost every vertebrate species, but it had a sixth sense that most of its descendants long since lost. More »
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The super salmon are (almost) here. The Food and Drug Administration has reportedly finished its evaluation of the environmental impacts of the first fish genetically engineered (GE) for human consumption. More »
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Lungfish are a peculiar type of fish that can survive for an extended period on land. Using their pectoral fins to propel themselves, they can gulp air and live for some time out of the water — and they're the sole surviving creature that could explain how we evolved to leave the oceans. More »
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Here is the first ever video of a fish using a tool. Specifically, an orange-dotted tuskfish using a rock to crack open a clam. But it might not be long before fish are using clams to crack open our skulls. More »
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There are close to 200 million fish living in aquarium tanks across the United States, and untold numbers of them are angry. So angry, in fact, that when they are kept with other fish, many are driven to pester, injure, and even kill their fellow tank-dwellers. More »
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These days, the dusky grouper is a major predator in the Mediterranean Sea, generally growing to about two feet long. But that wasn't always the case...and ancient mosaics provide a rare chance to see what this beast used to be. More »
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This drawing depicts Laccognathus embryi, a giant human-sized fish that prowled the ancient Arctic waters 150 million years before the emergence of the dinosaurs. Even in the Devonian Period, rather meekly known as the Age of Fishes, terrors were lurking. More »
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These fish are native to the limestone caverns found deep beneath the Somalian desert. As you might imagine, these are creatures of eternal darkness, and thus the terms "night" and "day" are meaningless. And that's what makes their biological clocks so bizarre. More »
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The Pacific leaping blenny is a marine fish in all aspects...except for the tiny detail that it spends all its time living on land. It could help us understand how the first animals colonized the land billions of years ago. More »
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This blackspot tuskfish, found in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, held a clam in its mouth and smashed it against a rock to reach the food inside. This photo is the first incontrovertible proof that fish are capable of tool use. More »
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Here's something for all you beachcombers this Fourth of July. Researchers have documented the first-ever case of a cookiecutter shark attacking a human. Although this shark maxes out at ~22 inches, its scoop-like bite is the stuff of nightmares. More »
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No animal is more defined by what it eats than the cleaner fish. These helpful parasites are all born female, but the biggest eater becomes the dominant male...and then, as you might expect, institutes a strict diet for everyone else. More »
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Generally speaking, poop isn't pleasant, but it also isn't exactly lethal. But every year jellyfish unleash bowel movements so deadly that they can destroy entire marine ecosystems. A little odor doesn't seem so bad all of a sudden, does it? More »
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You may know Hong Kong legend Godfrey Ho from any one of his 100 or so grade-Z movies, such as 1988's cyborgs-versus-Chinese-vampires classic Robo Vampire. But as bad/astounding as Robo Vampire was, it may not be Ho's most ludicrous film. More »
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It's wrong to lump all the ocean's jelly-like creatures into one category "jellyfish." So this video from the wonderful The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute breaks down all the glorious varieties of these magical sea beasts. More »
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The wreck of a Roman ship was discovered 25 years ago, and nobody could explain why a large lead pipe was smashed through the hull. Now we know it's just another example of Roman engineering prowess. Specifically, it's a fish tank. More »
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We're constantly discovering new species, and it isn't just little things like insects or plants. The ten biggest species discovered last year include a six foot long lizard, an antelope being sold at market, and this truly unique-looking creature. More »
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When a pair of freshwater fish species reproduce together, they create hybrids who are able to reproduce asexually. This ability should offer the hybrids an unstoppable evolutionary advantage...so why aren't we bowing down before our asexual fish hybrid masters? More »
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Tiny pupfish found in the shallow, salty lakes of Mexico and the Caribbean are experiencing some of the fastest evolution ever seen, changing their features 130 times faster than their fishy relatives. And we don't have the foggiest idea why. More »
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