This Week's Most Frequently Viewed Images

Chestnut cowry, mantle exposed.
Species: Chestnut cowrie, Date cowrie, Cypraea spadicea
Location: San Miguel Island, California
Image ID: 00624  

Ocean sunfish (Mola mola) with mouth wide open for slurping zooplankton, open ocean.
Species: Ocean sunfish, Mola mola
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 03319  

A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 03027  

A Florida manatee, or West Indian Manatee, swims slowly through the clear waters of Crystal River.
Species: West indian manatee, Trichechus manatus
Location: Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida
Image ID: 02696  

North Pacific humpback whale, peduncle throw.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02153  

Steller sea lions (Northern sea lions) gather on rocks. Steller sea lions are the largest members of the Otariid (eared seal) family. Males can weigh up to 2400 lb., females up to 770 lb.
Species: Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus
Location: Chiswell Islands, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
Image ID: 16977  

The Pronghorn antelope is the fastest North American land animal, capable of reaching speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. The pronghorns speed is its main defense against predators.
Species: Pronghorn antelope, Antilocapra americana
Location: Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19627  

Hang Glider soaring at Torrey Pines Gliderport, sunset, flying over the Pacific Ocean.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 24290  

Northern giant petrel scavenging a fur seal carcass. Giant petrels will often feed on carrion, defending it in a territorial manner from other petrels and carrion feeders.
Species: Northern giant petrel, Macronectes halli
Location: Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island
Image ID: 23698  

Two bald eagles in flight, wings spread, soaring, aloft.
Species: Bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis
Location: Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska
Image ID: 22602  

Bristlecone pine displays its characteristic gnarled, twisted form as it rises above the arid, dolomite-rich slopes of the White Mountains at 11000-foot elevation. Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Bristlecone Pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 17475  

Coyote, pausing to look for prey as it passes through Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
Species: Coyote, Canis latrans
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21803  

Eureka Valley Sand Dunes. The Eureka Dunes are California's tallest sand dunes, and one of the tallest in the United States. Rising 680' above the floor of the Eureka Valley, the Eureka sand dunes are home to several endangered species, as well as "singing sand" that makes strange sounds when it shifts.
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25279  

Young brown bear grazes in tall sedge grass. Brown bears can consume 30 lbs of sedge grass daily, waiting weeks until spawning salmon fill the rivers.
Species: Brown bear, Ursus arctos
Location: Lake Clark National Park, Alaska
Image ID: 19147  

Northern elephant seal, detail of fin, flipper, webbing, tail fin. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 18722  

A kelp forest. Giant kelp grows rapidly, up to 2' per day, from the rocky reef on the ocean bottom to which it is anchored, toward the ocean surface where it spreads to form a thick canopy. Myriad species of fishes, mammals and invertebrates form a rich community in the kelp forest. Lush forests of kelp are found through California's Southern Channel Islands.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 23446  

Salp (pelagic tunicate) reproduction, open ocean.
Species: Salp, Cyclosalpa affinis
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 04696  

Painted greenling and red gorgonian, Monterey Bay NMS.
Species: Painted greenling, Red gorgonian, Leptogorgia chilensis, Lophogorgia chilensis, Oxylebius pictus
Location: Monterey, California
Image ID: 05183  

White seaperch.
Species: White seaperch, Phanerodon furcatus
Image ID: 09407  

North Pacific Yellowtail at Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
Species: North Pacific Yellowtail, Seriola lalandi
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 05188  

Blue whale, exhaling at surface, Baja California.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 03031  

Northern elephant seal underwater at Guadalupe Island.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 03508  

Kelp stipe and blades.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: Santa Barbara Island, California
Image ID: 02498  

Bumphead Cichlid.
Species: Bumphead cichlid, Cyphotilapia frontosa
Image ID: 09290  

Blue whale, caudal stem, fluke with median notch.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 02220  

North Pacific humpback whale, mother and calf near ocean surface, cow/calf.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02998  

Sperm whale.
Species: Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus
Location: Sao Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal
Image ID: 02078  

A whale shark swims through the open ocean in the Galapagos Islands. The whale shark is the largest shark on Earth, but is harmless eating plankton and small fish.
Species: Whale shark, Rhincodon typus
Location: Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 01520  

Horn shark eating opalescent squid eggs, Loligo opalescens.
Species: Horn shark, Heterodontus francisci
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 01069  

California bat ray in kelp forest.
Species: California bat ray, Macrocystis pyrifera, Myliobatis californica
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 00267