Parrotfish are herbivores. They feed on algae by using their parrot-like beaks to scrape the algae off of corals and other rocky substrates. They use pharygeal (throat) teeth to grind and rock they ...

New hammerhead shark named for late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen is tagged and released. Photo credit: Mays Family Foundation/Katie Flowers. A hammerhead shark species discovered by scientists ...

Coral catsharks are nocturnal hunters, meaning they feed at night. These sharks like to inhabit coral reef communities in shallow coastal waters. Relatively secluded, coral catsharks can primarily be ...

Blacknose sharks can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea living in coastal waters over coral, sand or shell bottoms. These sharks get their name from the dark spot on ...

Mote Marine Laboratory scientists have restored more than 216,000 corals to Florida’s Coral Reef—an exciting milestone. Starting in 2020, several of our restored corals spawned, engaging in sexual ...

Hear true stories of marine research! The “Two Sea Fans” podcast, which aired between January 5, 2017, and September 15, 2021, featured fun and educational conversations between Mote Marine Laboratory ...

A triggerfish's dorsal spines function to lock themselves into rocky crevices at night, not allowing predators to pull them out. The first dorsal spine "locks" and the second dorsal spine "triggers" ...

Common snook grow much larger than other snook species, reaching up to 48 inches in length and weighing around 50 pounds. As juveniles, common snook eat mainly copepods and other micro-crustaceans. As ...

Masked gobies are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning they begin as female and transition to male later on in life. Hiding out near the bottom of the water column, masked gobies can be found in shaded ...

Sand tiger sharks have been know to "gulp" air at the surface of the water, using the air in their stomach to help control buoyancy. Sand tiger sharks can grow up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) long, with an ...

Swell sharks grow up to 3 feet (1 meter) long. Found throughout the Eastern Pacific from Monterey Bay to southern Mexico, with a small population near the coast of Chile. Swell sharks inhabit kelp ...

On average, leatherback turtles measure six feet (1.8 meters) in length and a weigh anywhere between 500 to 1,500 pounds (226.8-680.4 kilograms). Jellyfish make up the majority of a leatherback's diet ...