More than 60 years after surveys reported apparently dead coral structures off Benin, scientists have returned to the area and discovered living coral communities flourishing at depths of around 54m.

The unusual shovel-shaped head of the bonnethead shark becomes increasingly different between males and females as they mature. But a new study suggests scientists have had the developmental process backwards.

Bonnetheads (Sphyrna tiburo), the smallest members of the hammerhead family, are unusual among sharks because males and females have visibly different head shapes. Adult females have a broadly rounded cephalofoil—the expanded head characteristic of hammerheads—whereas males retain a more pronounced central point.

Bull sharks may have considerably more structured family lives than previously recognised. A decade-long genetic study of sharks in Fiji has revealed extensive kinship networks, females repeatedly using familiar nursery areas and, most strikingly, evidence that the same breeding pairs can produce offspring together years apart.

A Roman-era shipwreck has been identified approximately three nautical miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, in western Sicily, Italy.

The archaeological site lies at a depth of 46 metres and was located following a report from private citizens. The Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit in Palermo, the Sicilian Regional Sea Superintendency, and the Carabinieri Underwater Unit in Messina carried out a joint underwater inspection, supported by a Carabinieri patrol boat from Trapani.

The wreck of HMS Tiger, a Royal Navy torpedo boat destroyer lost with 35 members of her crew in 1908, has been found and identified south of the Isle of Wight after a nearly four-year investigation.

An international team from ProjectXplore located the wreck using archival research, magnetometer and side-scan sonar surveys followed by technical diving, underwater photography and 3D photogrammetry. The Royal Navy subsequently announced the identification on 10 August 2026.

Coral reefs may contain more fish overall, but neighbouring seagrass meadows can provide considerably more of the species that matter most for feeding coastal communities, according to new research.

Scientists studying fish communities from Kenya to Mozambique found that seagrass-associated fish provided a richer combination of essential micronutrients than those associated with nearby coral reefs. For three of the region's most important food-fish species, the potential nutritional contribution was more than eight times greater in seagrass meadows.

Sperm whales are famous for their extraordinary deep dives, but scientists have now uncovered another notable adaptation: they appear to use bubbles as a form of buoyancy control while resting.

Researchers from the University of St Andrews and Université de Neuchâtel found that resting sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) release gas as they drift vertically below the surface. By reducing the volume of gas within their bodies, the whales can counter their tendency to become increasingly buoyant as they rise towards shallower water.

A team of wreck divers discovered up to 20 Guinness bottles on a shipwreck off Dover. The divers believe the wreck is the barque Mindora, which sank on 27 November 1864 after a collision. Lloyd’s Register Foundation has not yet officially confirmed the vessel's identity, but historical survey records strongly suggest that the wreck is Mindora. Several of the bottles remained sealed despite spending more than 160 years on the seabed.

On most dives, the day’s adventure begins long before the descent into the sea. As the dive boat heads offshore, seabirds appear almost immediately. Gulls wheel overhead, shearwaters skim effortlessly across the waves, terns plunge after fish, while farther offshore an albatross may be gliding for minutes at a time without a single wingbeat.