129 articles

Ocean news, stories & science

Marine science, dive guides, species spotlights, conservation and ocean news — from the Red Sea and beyond.

Boxing Gloves and a Night Demon: How Sea Creatures Get Their Latin Names
Marine Science
Latest story

Boxing Gloves and a Night Demon: How Sea Creatures Get Their Latin Names

A crab named after a Roman boxing glove, an anemone named after a night demon, an urchin whose name simply says "of the red sea". Scientific names look arbitrary until you learn that nobody approves them: a name is staked like a mining claim, anchored to one specimen in a museum jar, and settled by whoever published first. Here is how the system works, and why the name you learned keeps changing.

Aug 10, 2026Read more

Latest articles

Historic Footage: Drone Captures First-Ever Humpback Whale Birth
Creatures

Historic Footage: Drone Captures First-Ever Humpback Whale Birth

High above the New South Wales coast, drone pilot Alexander Forrest witnessed a truly extraordinary event: the birth of a humpback whale. This marks only the fourth time a humpback birth has ever been filmed, and significantly, the first captured by a drone. This technological milestone provided an intimate, undisturbed view of a multi-tonne giant in her most vulnerable state.

Aug 01, 2026Read more
The Octopus Countdown: One Brilliant Life, One Ultimate Chance
Creatures

The Octopus Countdown: One Brilliant Life, One Ultimate Chance

Imagine a creature smart enough to solve puzzles and recognize faces, yet whose entire existence unfolds in less time than it takes to pick a movie. This is the octopus: an animal whose every move, from open ocean drifts to hidden den sanctuaries, is a finely tuned race towards one single, unrepeatable reproductive moment - a life of profound intelligence lived on an extraordinary deadline.

Jul 20, 2026Read more
Forget Jaws: Shark Awareness Day Reveals the Ocean's Essential Architects
Sharks

Forget Jaws: Shark Awareness Day Reveals the Ocean's Essential Architects

Decades of sensationalism have misrepresented sharks as mindless killers, overshadowing their critical role in ocean health. These ancient apex predators are vital architects of the food web, maintaining ecological balance and proving overwhelmingly harmless to humans. Shark Awareness Day pushes back against the myth, inviting us to see these magnificent creatures not as villains, but as essential guardians of the deep.

Jul 14, 2026Read more
The Language of the Deep
Scuba Diving

The Language of the Deep

Your first boat dive comes with an alphabet soup of NDLs, SMBs and buddy checks that sounds like a secret code. It kind of is - every acronym is a small safety ritual packed into a few letters. Here are the nine that matter most, decoded in the order you meet them on a real dive.

Jul 04, 2026Read more
Meet Red Sea Creatures - The Reef, in Your Pocket
Announcements

Meet Red Sea Creatures - The Reef, in Your Pocket

A field guide, a dive planner, and a love letter to one of the richest seas on Earth - now an app. Here's everything it can do, and why I built it.

Jul 01, 2026Read more
Meet the Shark That Prefers Walking to Swimming: The Discovery of Hemiscyllium dugeonae
Sharks

Meet the Shark That Prefers Walking to Swimming: The Discovery of Hemiscyllium dugeonae

While we often picture sharks as apex predators, a newly discovered species in Papua New Guinea challenges this notion by literally "walking" across the seabed on its fins. This unique shark, Hemiscyllium dugeonae, uses its fins like limbs and even boasts a "decoy eye" to fool predators, showcasing an unhurried and localized lifestyle far removed from the typical high-speed chase.

Jun 22, 2026Read more
World Sea Turtle Day - 150 Million Years of Survival, and Why Every Year Still Counts
Conservation

World Sea Turtle Day - 150 Million Years of Survival, and Why Every Year Still Counts

Sea turtles have swum Earth's oceans for an incredible 150 million years, outlasting dinosaurs and every major global catastrophe. On World Sea Turtle Day, June 16th, we celebrate these ancient survivors but also face a harsh truth: human civilization now poses a unique threat they can't adapt to, with six of the seven species fighting for their lives.

Jun 16, 2026Read more
Turning Your Next Dive Into Data: How Recreational Divers Are Saving the Oceans
Conservation

Turning Your Next Dive Into Data: How Recreational Divers Are Saving the Oceans

Every dive you take, every photo you snap, can become a vital part of global ocean conservation. Turn your passion into purpose by contributing real-time data and observations - no PhD needed - to fill critical knowledge gaps and protect our seas.

Jun 14, 2026Read more
Jacques-Yves Cousteau: The Explorer Who Gave the Ocean Its Voice
Scuba Divers

Jacques-Yves Cousteau: The Explorer Who Gave the Ocean Its Voice

Today marks the birthday of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a visionary who revolutionized ocean exploration and changed how humanity sees the sea. Despite a career-ending accident, he gave the deep a voice, bringing its wonders into homes worldwide and making his pioneering work more relevant than ever.

Jun 11, 2026Read more
Dolphins' Deeply Human Social Memory: How Females Protect Themselves
Creatures

Dolphins' Deeply Human Social Memory: How Females Protect Themselves

Imagine a world where your safety depends on remembering every past interaction with others. Female bottlenose dolphins navigate just such a complex social landscape, using sophisticated long-term memory to track the behavioral history of males and protect themselves in a way we're only beginning to understand.

Jun 10, 2026Read more
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