Ocean life encyclopedia
Blue Life Commons now has an image-first species encyclopedia: approved media hosted in Vercel Blob, source pages preserved, and every animal connected back to its cited public record.
31
Animal entries
Current public species pages in the commons.
31
Hosted images
Approved species images now served from Vercel Blob.
69
Cited sources
Unique source URLs represented by the species corpus.
6
Guilds
Species grouped for scanning and expansion.
31 approved images · 31 Blob-hosted images
Candidate media remains out of public rendering until approval.
7 entries
The basking shark is one of the most recognizable sharks: an enormous body, a bulbous conical snout, and very large gill slits that nearly encircle the head. The mouth is large and subterminal, with many small hooked tee
Image: Greg Skomal / NOAA Fisheries Service / Public domain
The great white shark, also known as the white shark, is a species of large lamniform shark found in the coastal surface waters of all major oceans. It is notable for its size, predatory capabilities, and role as an apex
Image: Pterantula (Terry Goss) at en.wikipedia / CC BY 2.5
The reef manta ray is a very large ray with a kite shaped disc, broad wing like pectoral fins, and a pair of long, flexible cephalic ("head") lobes flanking a wide, terminal mouth. Individuals carry unique natural spot p
Image: Jaine FRA, Couturier LIE, Weeks SJ, Townsend KA, Bennett MB, et al. (2012) / CC BY 2.5
The scalloped hammerhead is named for the broad, flattened "hammer" (cephalic) head, the front edge of which is curved with a central indentation and lateral scallops — a feature that separates it from the great and smoo
Image: iNaturalist.org (Simon Tonge) (Simon%20Tonge) / CC0
The shortfin mako is a large, highly migratory shark with a pointed (conical) snout, light metallic blue sides, and a white underside. It has relatively small eyes and pectoral fins compared with the closely related long
Image: Mark Conlin, SWFSC Large Pelagics Program / Public domain
The tiger shark has a robust body, a broad blunt snout, and large eyes. The dorsal surface is dark grey to brownish, fading to a pale white underside. Juveniles show pronounced dark vertical bars ("tiger" stripes) that f
Image: Fanchon Varenne (IFREMER, Délégation océan Indien (DOI), Département Ressources Biologiques et Environnement (RBE), F-97420 Le Port, France) / CC BY 4.0
The whale shark is unmistakable: a very large shark (the largest fish species), dark grey above with a distinctive pattern of pale spots and stripes, a broad flattened head, and a huge terminal mouth used for filter feed
Image: cotterillmike / CC0
6 entries
A very large, slender baleen whale that NOAA Fisheries reports can reach roughly 110 feet (about 33 m) in length, with a long mottled blue grey body, a small dorsal fin set far back, and a broad flat head. The blow is ta
Image: NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NOAA) / Public domain
A robust grey dolphin with a short, distinct beak and a curved (falcate) dorsal fin. NOAA Fisheries reports lengths of about 6 to 13 feet (roughly 2 to 4 m) and weights of about 300 to 1,400 pounds, with coastal and offs
Image: NASA / Public domain
A large baleen whale with very long pectoral fins (up to roughly a third of body length), a knobbly head (tubercles), and a small dorsal fin on a humped back. Often identified individually by the unique pattern on the un
Image: Dr. Louis M. Herman. / Public domain
A stocky black baleen whale with no dorsal fin, a broad back, and a strongly arched mouthline. The head bears rough patches of thickened skin (callosities) whose pattern is unique to each individual — the basis for photo
Image: NOAA Gray's Reef NMS / Public domain
A large black and white toothed cetacean. NOAA Fisheries reports lengths up to about 32 feet (roughly 10 m) and weights up to about 11 tons. Distinctive features include the tall dorsal fin (taller and straighter in adul
Image: Robert Pittman / Public domain
A large toothed whale with an enormous block shaped head (which holds the spermaceti organ), wrinkled skin, and a single blowhole set to the left of the head, producing a distinctive forward angled blow. NOAA Fisheries r
Image: Marion & Christoph Aistleitner / CC0
6 entries
A branching, flattened coral whose broad antler like ("elkhorn") branches grow rapidly toward the light, forming dense stands in shallow, high energy reef zones. Colonies build three dimensional reef structure on the wav
Image: Jstuby at en.wikipedia / CC0
A very large brown alga anchored to rocky substrate by a root like holdfast, with long stipes bearing blades, each kept buoyant by a gas filled float (pneumatocyst) at its base. Fronds reach the surface and form a floati
Image: Claire Fackler, CINMS, NOAA. / Public domain
A massive, rounded ("boulder" or "brain") coral whose surface is covered in deep, meandering grooves and ridges that resemble the folds of a brain — the feature that gives the genus its name. Unlike branching corals it g
Image: Jstuby / CC0
A rooted marine flowering plant with long, ribbon like green leaves growing from a network of rhizomes anchored in seafloor sediment. Over centuries it builds raised "matte" terraces of intertwined rhizomes and trapped s
Image: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Public domain
A small to medium evergreen tree of the intertidal coast, recognized by its arching "prop" or stilt roots that drop from the trunk and branches into the water. It is viviparous: seeds germinate while still attached to th
Image: no rights reserved / CC0
A branching, antler like ("staghorn") coral with cylindrical branches that grow rapidly, forming dense thickets. These thickets build three dimensional reef structure that shelters fish and invertebrates — making this a
Image: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters / Public domain
6 entries
A large sea turtle with a smooth, often mottled carapace, a single pair of prefrontal scales, and a small rounded head. Named for the greenish color of its body fat, not its shell. Adults are largely herbivorous, grazing
Image: Brocken Inaglory / CC BY-SA 3.0
The hawksbill is named for its narrow, hawk like beak, which it uses to reach prey in reef crevices (NOAA Fisheries). Its carapace is strikingly mottled in amber, orange, red, yellow, black, and brown, with serrated rear
Image: Diego Delso / CC BY-SA 4.0
Kemp's ridley is the smallest sea turtle: adults weigh about 70–100 pounds and measure roughly 2 feet in length (NOAA Fisheries). The carapace is often as wide as it is long, grayish green above with a pale yellowish und
Image: uploaded by Johntex / Public domain
The leatherback is unmistakable: it is the largest living turtle, with adults reaching about 5–6 feet in length and weighing roughly 750–1,000 pounds (NOAA Fisheries). Unlike all other sea turtles, it lacks scales and a
Image: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA / Public domain
The loggerhead is named for its large head and powerful jaws. Adults are about 2.5–3.5 feet long and weigh roughly 200–350 pounds (NOAA Fisheries). The carapace is reddish brown in adults and sub adults, over a pale yell
Image: Brian Gratwicke / CC BY 2.0
The olive ridley takes its name from the olive green color of its heart shaped carapace (NOAA Fisheries). It is among the smallest sea turtles: adults measure about 2–2.5 feet long and weigh up to roughly 100 pounds (NOA
Image: Remove "cropped" from file name and see original file / CC BY-SA 4.0
5 entries
A medium large eared seal: males are much larger than females and develop a raised forehead crest (sagittal crest) with age, often appearing lighter on the crown. Unlike true seals, otariids have visible external ear fla
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/ Mike Baird / CC BY 2.0
A large phocid with a long, broad muzzle and a relatively flat profile — the genus name Halichoerus ("hook nosed sea pig") points to the distinctive snout. Adult males are darker and noticeably larger than females, with
Image: Aneta p / CC BY 4.0
A small to medium seal with a rounded head, V shaped nostrils, and a coat of spots and rings on a grey to brown background; no external ear flaps (a "true" / phocid seal). On land it moves by caterpillar like undulation;
Image: Greg Schechter from San Francisco, USA / CC BY 2.0
A robust true seal with a relatively slender body, a broad, rounded head, and short snout. Coloration is silvery grey to brown above and lighter below, often with green tinged algal films or scarring on adults; pups are
Image: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Public domain
Unmistakable among pinnipeds: a very large body, a broad muzzle dense with stiff whiskers (vibrissae), and long tusks (elongated canine teeth) present in both sexes, longer in males. Skin is thick and wrinkled, often app
Image: Joel Garlich-Miller, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Public domain
1 entry
A large, slow moving, fully aquatic herbivore with a rounded, seal shaped body, paddle like fore flippers, and a broad, flattened, spoon shaped tail (distinguishing manatees from the fluke tailed dugong). The face has a
Image: NASA / Public domain