This is the aptly-named "black swallower" (Chiasmodon niger), a fish known for eating bony fish up to 10x its mass and 2x its length.

It's found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters at a depth of 700-2,745 meters.

Most specimens of this fish have been collected after one attempted to swallow prey too large for it to handle, and the prey could not be digested before decomposition set it. The release of gases forces the black swallower to the surface.

This particular specimen was found washed up on the shore in 2007. The black swallower measures 19 cm long. The fish in its stomach is a snake mackerel measuring 86 cm. ...

Blue whales are not only the largest animal alive right now, but they are believed to be the largest animal that has ever lived.

They are listed as endangered by the IUCN, but a group of researchers hopes to designate 10% of the ocean as protected by 2020. Despite their slow reproduction times, researchers believe this will be enough to help rebound their number

Sea pigs are marine animals around 15 cm long that live about 1,000 metres down on the deep sea floor. They are scotoplanes (sea cucumbers) and their 'legs' are actually elongated feet which are used to push food into their mouths. The apparent antennae on the front of the head are also feet, used to tread the deep sea water. They feed on deep ocean mud and thrive on the organic material present there. The sea pigs are not considered as a threat to humans and they are not an endangered species. ...

When you turn on your TV, it is the definition of ironic to watch the news channels for information about planet mass destruction. Whilst when you step outside your door, it is quite alarming and obvious that our earth is suffering. When every person around you, from toddlers to elderly, own some for of technology, with no means of recycling old items. When students, each with their own copies of pages. When potable water has not yet reached the most needy of nations. When human greed is apparent with every innovative idea claiming to "revolutionize "a domain brought up to make  a quick buck. Drilling, mining, industrialization, politics, scavenging for resources, suffocating our environment... This may all seem negative, but coming from a ...

Genetic testing of giant squid corpses discovered all over the world has found that not only are they all the same species, they have surprisingly low genetic diversity. This suggests that some time in the recent past they were pushed to the brink of extinction, but managed to rebound and are now found throughout the worlds oceans.

The wolphin is the extraordinary result of breeding a female bottle-nosed dolphin with a male false killer whale. In captivity there are two occurrences, both are in the Sea Life Park in Hawaii. Unlike other hybrids, the wolphin is fertile.

The coelacanth is known as a “living fossil” because it looks very much like its ancestors from 300 million years ago. Its genome has been sequenced, and it, in fact, has been found to be evolving at a very slow rate. The genetic sequence also might help give some insight into the transition from fins to limbs.

The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the largest turtle in the world, weighing approximately 900 kg. Contrary to appearance, the leatherback doesn't actually have a shell. What looks like a shell is in fact a leathery skin supported by small bones. This gives it a flexibility that a solid shell would not provide, allowing it to dive to astonishing depths.