Field guide · Species directory
Marine life
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Thunnus thynnus
A high-speed warm-blooded predator that can reach 1,500 pounds and 1,000-mile sprints across oceans. Atlantic bluefin populations have decli…
Atlantic Horseshoe Crab
Limulus polyphemus
A "living fossil" virtually unchanged for 450 million years. Their copper-based blue blood (LAL) detects bacterial contamination at 1 part p…
Blue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus
The largest animal that has ever lived — bigger than any dinosaur. Adults reach 100 feet and 200 tons; their hearts alone are the size of a …
Chinook Salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
The largest of the Pacific salmon and the cornerstone of Pacific Northwest ecosystems — feeding orcas, bears, eagles, and even forests via m…
Elkhorn Coral
Acropora palmata
Once one of the most abundant Caribbean reef-builders, elkhorn coral has declined 95% since the 1980s. Its branching structure provides crit…
Giant Pacific Octopus
Enteroctopus dofleini
The world's largest octopus species — record arm-spans over 30 feet. Highly intelligent and famously curious; they recognize individual huma…
Gray Whale
Eschrichtius robustus
A baleen whale that performs the longest mammal migration on Earth — up to 14,000 miles round-trip from Arctic feeding grounds to Mexican la…
Green Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas
The only sea turtle that's primarily herbivorous as an adult — and the largest of the hard-shelled sea turtles, reaching 350 pounds. The "gr…
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Eretmochelys imbricata
Named for their pointed beak, hawksbills are the only sea turtles with a diet specialized on sponges — making them critical reef ecosystem e…
Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
Acrobatic giants up to 60 feet long, famous for their complex songs that travel hundreds of miles underwater.
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
The smallest and most endangered sea turtle. Down from 40,000 nesting females in the 1940s to about 200 by 1985, today the population is aro…
Killer Whale (Orca)
Orcinus orca
The ocean's apex predator and largest member of the dolphin family. Orcas live in matriarchal pods with distinct cultures — different popula…
Leatherback Sea Turtle
Dermochelys coriacea
The largest sea turtle in the world — up to 7 feet long and 2,000 pounds. Their leathery shell and unique anatomy let them dive deeper than …
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Caretta caretta
The largest hard-shelled sea turtle in the world, loggerheads return to the same beach where they hatched to lay their own eggs decades late…
North Atlantic Right Whale
Eubalaena glacialis
One of the rarest large whales on Earth — fewer than 360 individuals remain. Named "right" by 19th-century whalers because they were slow, f…
Sea Otter
Enhydra lutris
A keystone species whose love of sea urchins keeps kelp forests alive across the Pacific. They have the densest fur of any animal on Earth —…
Staghorn Coral
Acropora cervicornis
Branching coral with thin antler-like branches — once dominant Caribbean reef-builder. Catastrophic decline of 95%+ since 1980s.
Vaquita
Phocoena sinus
The world's smallest and most endangered cetacean. Only ~10 individuals remain — extinction may be imminent. Their decline is driven entirel…
West Indian Manatee
Trichechus manatus
Gentle herbivorous "sea cows" that can eat up to 100 pounds of seagrass a day. Florida's state marine mammal.
American Lobster
Homarus americanus
An iconic Atlantic crustacean that can live 50–100 years and weigh up to 44 pounds. Their populations are climate-stressed in southern New E…
Atlantic Cod
Gadus morhua
For 500 years, Atlantic cod sustained the New England, Newfoundland, and European fisheries. The Grand Banks population collapsed in 1992 — …
Atlantic Sturgeon
Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus
A prehistoric-looking armored fish that can grow 14 feet long and live 60+ years. Federally Endangered in 4 of 5 US population segments. The…
Beluga Whale
Delphinapterus leucas
The "canary of the sea" — belugas vocalize so much underwater that they're among the loudest cetaceans. Their flexible necks (rare in cetace…
Brain Coral (Caribbean)
Diploria sp.
Massive coral with brain-like ridge-and-groove patterns. Builds the structural foundation of many Caribbean reefs.
California Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus
The barking, charismatic pinnipeds you'll see basking on docks and jetties along the West Coast. Highly intelligent — they're the species fa…
Common Bottlenose Dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
Highly intelligent and social, bottlenose dolphins use signature whistles as individual names and pass tool use across generations.
Giant Manta Ray
Mobula birostris
The world's largest ray, with wingspans up to 23 feet. Filter feeders that consume tons of plankton, mantas have the largest brain-to-body r…
Northern Elephant Seal
Mirounga angustirostris
Down to maybe 100 individuals in 1892, the northern elephant seal is now ~150,000 — a textbook recovery. Males weigh up to 5,000 pounds and …
Pacific Walrus
Odobenus rosmarus divergens
Massive Arctic pinnipeds with iconic tusks (used for hauling out, breaking ice, and dominance displays). Their fate is tied directly to summ…
Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
Sphyrna lewini
Iconic shark with a wide hammer-shaped head packed with sensors that detect electrical signals from buried prey.
Sperm Whale
Physeter macrocephalus
The largest toothed predator on Earth, with the largest brain of any animal that has ever existed. They dive nearly 7,000 feet to hunt giant…
Steller Sea Lion
Eumetopias jubatus
The largest of the eared seals, with massive males weighing up to 2,500 pounds. Western populations crashed 80% since 1960 and remain Endang…
Striped Bass
Morone saxatilis
An anadromous (sea-and-river) game fish that defines East Coast saltwater angling. Once collapsed in the 1980s, bass were brought back by a …
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