Marine invertebrates

This really cute little octopus is from cold Antarctic waters.

Have you ever seen these shells on the beach?

After a decade-long effort, NIWA’s latest Biodiversity Memoir has just rolled off the presses. Written by marine biologist Kareen Schnabel, the 350-page treatise presents everything we currently know about the different kinds of squat lobster living in New Zealand’s waters.

Five specialist NIWA divers were left ‘gasping’ during their recent plunge under the ice near Scott Base.

Corals can live hundreds to thousands of years. What do we really know about them?

Scientists mapping the Hauraki Gulf seafloor have discovered huge colonies of tubeworms up to 1.5 metres high and collectively covering hundreds of metres providing vital habitats for plants and animals.

A giant squid and several glow-in-the-dark sharks were surprise finds for NIWA scientists last month on the Chatham Rise during a voyage to survey hoki, New Zealand’s most valuable commercial fish species.

Sam Fraser-Baxter heads to the Wairarapa for one of New Zealand’s longest-running marine surveys – counting baby lobster.

A worm that feeds on bacteria and has no eyes is one of the standout stars of almost 600 unfamiliar and potentially new ocean species identified at NIWA in the past year.

An interactive guide to the jellyfish of New Zealand.

An interactive guide to the shallow water anemones of New Zealand. Version 2.0 (2022) is available for download now!

The on-going rise of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is not only changing our climate—it is also changing our oceans.