The ocean is a mighty harmonist... @lifeinthedeepbluesea - Tumblr Blog

artofsoul1999

Not really part of the previous series of bottlenose dolphin illustrations. This is just a random one I did for practice reasons with a little bit more details. I went with a Bahamas bottlenose since there's more reference pics of them and I wanted some of that clear blue water lighting to this illustration.

#bottlenose dolphin #dolphin #art

fishstims

schimdtocean on instagram

#tripod fish #fish #gif

seatrench

Spotted Eagle Ray

(source)

#spotted eagle ray #ray

seatrench

(source)

#leatherback sea turtle #sea turtle #turtle

noaasanctuaries

We now present all of our Monday moods in sea otter form. Tag yourself: which sea otter chilling on the shores of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary are you?

(Photo: Lilian Carswell/@usfws)

[Image description: Multiple sea otters hauled out on shore.]

#sea otter

namu-the-orca

The Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli)

Some of your may remember the work in progress views for these guys, now finally onto the interweb they go. Another commission for the lovely people at Porpoise Conservation Society, as part of our porpoise species series. Usually one scientific illustration suffices, but with huge sexual dimorphism, two distinct colour morphs and very different calf colouration, no less than six illustrations came into being.

They were lots of fun to paint, and it was interesting to get to know the species better. Truei-type Dall’s porpoises occur only east of Japan, while the Dalli-type extends all across the northern Pacific. Within the Dalli-type are again two morphs: in the East the white marking is long, in the West it is short. The change is gradual, and find their extremes on either side of the Pacific. Dalli- and Truei-types are not definitively separated either: a Dalli-type female from the Eastern Pacific was once found carrying a Truei-type calf.

I also tried to show as much individual variation as possible, while still keeping the illustrations representative. Some examples: the Dalli-type male is dotted with fine black spots. Most Dall’s have a couple around the edges of their white markings, but some animals are simply covered in them. The four adults also show different degrees of lightness. The Truei-type female is very dark, with almost no white markings to speak of. The Dalli-type female is as light as they get: extensive markings on her pectoral fins, and the normally vague grey tailstock marking is a solid white.

The calves are a different story altogether. Unlike their adult counterparts, newborn and juvenile Dall’s porpoises show clear, almost dolphin like markings on their body and especially face. Interestingly, Dalli-type calves display a Truei-type like marking in creamy grey. On very young calves this area can be very light, making them almost look like a Truei-type animal.

Another interesting thing is the males ‘manliness’. The more macho a male, the more convex shaped the flukes and the more forward-canting the dorsal fin. For some reason Truei-type males are usually displayed as smaller and more flimsy than Dalli-type males, even though there is no difference in size. So here I reversed the stereotype, giving the Truei-male more manly fins. Another interesting thing is the influence of pose on their perceived shape: although the Truei-male’s tailstock seems slimmer than that of the Dalli-male, both have the exact same measurements.

#dall's porpoise #porpoise #cetacean #art

thelovelyseas

I Am An Ocean Ripple by Laura Storm

#atlantic spotted dolphin #dolphin

carlsafina

Looking for another book to add to your reading list? I highly suggest “Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness” by Peter Godfrey-Smith. Read my review here.

#octopus #cephalopod

snailtongue

#nurse shark #shark #fish

thelovelyseas

Pair by Andrey Narchuk

#harbor seal #seal

kohola-kai-deactivated20220130

Species no. 2 of my #100ReasonsProject is the Green Sea Turtle. Green sea turtles are classified as an endangered species. These turtles face a multitude of threats from the time they are in eggs through adulthood. These turtles are affected by human activity such as plastic pollution, hunting (in some countries), loss of nesting grounds and even light pollution. When turtles hatch, they instinctively move toward light, which would be the ocean if bright city lights didn’t exist. Those of you that have seen Blue Planet II probably saw a graphic example of what happens in that case…. Plastic pollution is a huge threat for these turtles. They often fall victim to being caught as bycatch in fishing gear. They sometimes also ingest trash that is floating around. Younger turtles often mistake plastic bags and mylar balloons for their prey, as they resemble sea jellies and hydrozoans. Sadly, those can end up being their last meal.

Marine animals are facing more human-caused threats now than ever before. With this project, my goal is to raise awareness for 100 threatened marine species: 100 reasons to care!

#green sea turtle #sea turtle #art

mad-as-a-marine-biologist

Please stop what you are doing and look at these baby Lionfish!

Remember:-

Lionfish in Atlantic = invasive = problem.

Lionfish in Pacific = native = not a problem.

—-

📷s by Steven Kovacs

Original article

#lionfish #fish

kohola-kai-deactivated20220130

Rough toothed dolphins interacting with a white shark

Photos by Juan Sharks

#rough toothed dolphin #dolphin #great white shark #shark #fish

namu-the-orca

So here’s something fun I got to work on a few weeks back. A t-shirt design featuring all modern species of porpoise - only the two species of finless porpoise were bundled into one, and represented here by the narrow-ridged finless porpoise. Commissioned by the Porpoise Conservation Society of course, because who else could this be for ;) Lots of fun to do, and a nice “warm-up” for my current commission, also for the PCS: a rather more detailed look at one of these species!