Cownose rays can grow up to 7 feet (2.1 meters), but on average only grow to be 4 feet (1.2 meters). These rays can get as heavy as 50 pounds! Cownose rays prefer shallow coastal waters but migrate ...

Yellow tangs hang out in small schools of fish that sometimes include other species. Yellow tangs are entirely yellow in color. They’re round and flat with long dorsal and pectoral fins. These tangs ...

These shrimp only live for a year and usually die post-spawning season. Glass shrimp can be hard to spot because of their transparent coloring. Faint striping occurs on their midsection and ends at ...

For over 30 years, the Manatee Research Program (MRP) has been involved in a host of research efforts involving manatee behavioral ecology, abundance and distribution, and population demographics, as ...

The lightning whelk's movement is slowed when in saltwater. The lightning whelk can be found along the North American coastline from New Jersey to Texas in creeks, oyster bars and estuaries. Lightning ...

On rare occasion, this sea star can have four or six limbs, instead of the standard five. Chocolate chip sea stars have a creamy white base and dark brown projections, resembling chocolate chips.

Seafood farmed from areas in an active red tide bloom are toxic to consume. Consuming red tide toxins can affect your nervous system leading to headache, nausea and dizziness. Red tide cells are ...

Unlike many other species of rays, lesser devil rays do not have a spine in their tails. The lesser devil ray's diet consists of pelagic plankton- small organisms found floating in the water column.

When these snails are ready to spawn, they'll settle themselves on high rocks and begin the external fertilization of released eggs. Shaped like a spiral cone, lightfoot snails can range from orange ...

The giant hermit crab is the largest hermit crab species in the western Atlantic ocean. Throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and western Atlantic Ocean, giant hermit crabs inhabit inshore ...

These jellyfish have stinging cells in their tentacles that they use to stun their prey and defend themselves from predators. In the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Ocean, thimble jellies can live at ...

A SCREENSHOT FROM MOTE’S BEACH CONDITIONS REPORTING SYSTEM, SHOWING MANY OF THE SITES WHERE MOTE’S TRAINED VOLUNTEERS MONITOR VARIOUS BEACH CONDITIONS ALONG THE COASTLINE. The Beach Conditions ...