Mother and calf southern right whales are seen here as part of a larger courtship group, with adult males interested in mating with the mother. The calf has no choice but to stay by her mother's side during the courting activities.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38381
San Diego City Skyline at Sunset, viewed from Point Loma, Shelter Island Yacht Club in the foreground, San Diego Bay, Mount San Miguel (right) and Lyons Peak (left) in distance.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 36749
Lunar Eclipse Sequence, the path of the moon through the sky as it progresses from being fully visible (top) to fully eclipsed (middle) to almost fully visible again (bottom), viewed through Arch Rock, April 4 2015.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 30713
Mesa Arch spans 90 feet and stands at the edge of a mesa precipice thousands of feet above the Colorado River gorge. For a few moments at sunrise the underside of the arch glows dramatically red and orange.
Location: Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18040
Hammerhead sharks swim in a school underwater at Wolf Island in the Galapagos archipelago. The hammerheads eyes and other sensor organs are placed far apart on its wide head to give the shark greater ability to sense the location of prey.
Species: Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini
Location: Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16271
The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is found on the southern and western coasts of Australia. Its extravagent appendages serve only for camoflage, since it has a nearly-invisible dorsal fin that propels it slowly through the water. The leafy sea dragon is the marine emblem of South Australia.
Species: Leafy seadragon, Phycodurus eques
Location: Rapid Bay Jetty, South Australia
Image ID: 39137
California sea lion on drift kelp paddy, underwater. This adult female California sea lion was hanging out underneath a paddy of drift kelp, well offshore the coastline of San Diego.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 38532