Portraits   ::   Many Faces of the Sea.

Image 00205, North Pacific humpback whale, breach., Megaptera novaeangliae, Maui, Copyright © Phillip Colla / HWRF, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: balaenopteridae:cetacean:endangered:hawaii:humpback whale:marine mammal:maui:megaptera novaeangliae:mysticete:rorqual.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 01006, Blue shark underneath drift kelp, open ocean., Prionace glauca, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: blue shark:chondrichthyes:elasmobranch:elasmobranchii:pelagic:prionace glauca:shark:underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02114, Guadalupe fur seal., Arctocephalus townsendi, Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: arctocephalus townsendi:carnivore:endangered:guadalupe fur seal:guadalupe island:isla guadalupe:marine mammal:mexico:otariid:otariidae:pacific:pinniped:threatened:underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02169, Blue whale., Balaenoptera musculus, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: aerial:balaenoptera musculus:balaenopteridae:blue whale:cetacean:endangered:marine mammal:mysticete:rorqual.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02413, Ocean sunfish, open ocean, southern California., Mola mola, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02696, West Indian manatee., Trichechus manatus, Three Sisters Springs, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: endangered:florida:florida manatee:marine mammal:sirenian:trichechus manatus:underwater:west indian manatee.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 00676, Atlantic spotted dolphin., Stenella frontalis, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: atlantic:atlantic spotted dolphin:bahamas:cetacean:delphinidae:marine mammal:stenella frontalis:underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 00294, Juvenile treefish among offshore drift kelp., Sebastes serriceps, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02247, Pelagic red tuna crab, open ocean., Pleuroncodes planipes, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 00914, Brown booby., Sula leucogaster, Rose Atoll National Wildlife Sanctuary, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: rose atoll:samoa.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 03192, Scalloped hammerhead shark., Sphyrna lewini, Cocos Island, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: chondrichthyes:cocos island:costa rica:elasmobranch:elasmobranchii:scalloped hammerhead shark:shark:sphyrna lewini:underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02851, Green sea turtle, West Maui., Chelonia mydas, Maui, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: hawaii:maui:reptile:underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02252, Galapagos sea lion playing with puffer fish., Zalophus californianus wollebacki, Cousins, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: carnivore:endangered:galapagos sea lion:marine mammal:otariid:otariidae:pinniped:sealion:underwater:zalophus californianus wollebacki.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02078, Sperm whale., Physeter macrocephalus, Sao Miguel Island, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: atlantic:azores:cetacean:endangered:marine mammal:odontocete:physeter catadon:physeter macrocephalus:physeteridae:portugal:sao miguel island:sperm whale:toothed whale:underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 00001, Atlantic spotted dolphin., Stenella frontalis, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: atlantic:atlantic spotted dolphin:bahamas:cetacean:delphinidae:marine mammal:stenella frontalis:underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02346, Blue-banded goby, Catalina island., Lythrypnus dalli, Catalina Island, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: california:catalina island:underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 01611, Galapagos sea lion pup, Punta Espinosa., Zalophus californianus wollebacki, Fernandina Island, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: carnivore:ecuador:endangered:fernandina island:galapagos islands:galapagos sea lion:marine mammal:otariid:otariidae:pinniped:sealion:zalophus californianus wollebacki.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 01503, Whale shark., Rhincodon typus, Darwin Island, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: chondrichthyes:ecuador:elasmobranch:elasmobranchii:galapagos islands:rhincodon typus:shark:underwater:whale shark.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02271, Magnificent frigatebird (note blue eye ring), juvenile., Fregata magnificens, North Seymour Island, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: ecuador:galapagos islands:north seymour island.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02432, Coral hawkfish., Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus, Wolf Island, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: ecuador:galapagos islands:underwater:wolf island.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02151, California sea lions, Coronado Islands., Zalophus californianus, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: california sea lion:carnivore:marine mammal:otariid:otariidae:pinniped:sealion:zalophus californianus.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 02416, Garibaldi, southern California., Hypsypops rubicundus, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: underwater.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Image 03135, Atlantic puffin, mating coloration., Fratercula arctica, Machias Seal Island, Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide. Keywords: atlantic puffin:fratercula arctica:machias seal island:maine.   NOTE:  This photograph was taken during Hawaii Whale Research Foundation research activities conducted under NOAA/NMFS and State of Hawaii permit.  Its use is subject to certain restrictions.  Please contact the photographer for more information.
Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, HawaiiBlue shark, Prionace glauca, under drift kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, California, offshoreTypical head-down posture of Guadalupe fur seals.

The recent history of Arctocephalus townsendi is both a sobering account of wanton killing and greed and an encouraging tale of resilience and recovery. Although it once numbered perhaps 200,000 across its 1500 mile range :: from the Revilligigedos and the Baja peninsula to California's Channel Islands :: the Guadalupe fur seal nearly passed into oblivion before being recognized by science. At one time, Guadalupe Island alone was home to probably 30,000 fur seals, so many that its western shore has long tracts of waterline lava rocks polished smooth by centuries of hauling-out fur seals. With the onset of North Pacific whaling in the late 1700's, the seals' beautiful fur pelts :: black outer fur over an underfur so dense that the seal's skin remains dry :: became liabilities, and the seals were taken in vast numbers by Russian and Aleut hunters to adorn Chinese royalty and Parisian society.
Scientists estimate that the largest blue ever to have lived probably weighed more than 200 tons -- 400,000 pounds -- and was more massive than an entire herd of thirty African elephants. A truly impressive beast, indeed. Blue whales dwarf even the largest dinosaurs, being nearly twice the size of the largest prehistoric land dweller Brachiosaurus. A small child could crawl through the chambers of a blue whale's immense heart, or out one of its twin blowholes. Scientific accounts cite individual blue whales nearly 100 feet in length while less reliable whaling records reported giants up to 110 feet long. The largest subspecies of blue whale, intermedia, inhabits Antarctic regions while the slightly smaller musculus is found in northern hemisphere oceans.Mola mola is found in all oceans in tropical and temperate climes, and is known to eat gelatinous zooplankton (jellyfish) and probably small fishes and algae. In the eastern Pacific, Mola mola is normally found from British Columbia to South America, although in El Nino events it has been recorded as far north as Alaska.West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus, FloridaJuvenile Atlantic spotted dolphin, Stenella frontalis, BahamasJuvenile treefish, Sebastes serriceps, under drift kelp, California, offshoreBlue whales are also known to feed on aggregations of pelagic red crabs, Pleuroncodes planipes.

Pelagic red crab, Pleuroncodes planipes, Mexico
Brown booby, Sula leucogaster, Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, SamoaScalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, Isla del Coco, Costa RicaGreen sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, HawaiiGalapagos sea lion, Zalophus californianus wollebacki, toying with puffer fishSperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, AzoresAtlantic spotted dolphin, Stenella frontalis, BahamasBlue-banded goby, Lythrypnus dalli, CaliforniaGalapagos sea lion pup, Zalophus californianus wollebacki, GalapagosWhale shark, Rhincodon typus, GalapagosJuvenile frigate, Fregata sp., GalapagosCoral hawkfish, Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus, GalapagosFemale California sea lions, Zalophus californianus, Baja CaliforniaGaribaldi, Hypsypops rubicundus, CaliforniaAtlantic puffin, Fratercula arctica, Nova Scotia
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