Image: L. Sousa
It almost sounds like a bad horror movie. Scientists have recently discovered a new species of electric eel, Volta’s electric eel (Electrophorus voltai). Found in the rivers of South America, it not only is capable of producing 860-V electric shocks — the strongest electric discharge of any animal on Earth, but also hunts its prey in packs. While mammals including wolves and orcas are known to hunt in groups, the behavior is rare in fish, particularly in freshwater fish.
Until just last year, scientists thought that there was only one species of electric eel, which are not actually eels but a variety of knife fish. They also thought that electric eels were solitary predators, sneaking up on sleeping fish and stunning them with an electric shock before them before devouring them. In 2019, however, scientists discovered that there were at least three distinct species. The largest and most powerful of these was designated Volta’s electric eel.
Now, Volta’s electric eels have been observed conducting highly coordinated group hunts. Continue reading
Yesterday, we posted about the 
In what is developing into a record winter for containers lost over the side, the 
At about 6 PM on Sunday, the 
An updated repost, a look back at the twin miracles on the Hudson from twelve years ago today. On January 15, 2009, 
Of all the strangeness that has already transpired in 2021, the most pleasant and least expected has been the explosion of sea shanties on 
Depending on which news report you listen to, the aircraft carrier 
A video clip for a Monday. During a practice match against British challenger INEOS Team UK, Peter Burling, Team New Zealand skipper, lost control of the AC75 Te Rehutai during a gybe. While sailing at about 35 knots, the boat took a nose-dive and rolled on its beam ends. Remarkably, there were no reported injuries or significant damage to the boat.
Sometimes size matters. We have recently seen ever-larger container ships delivered from Asian shipyards. This year, the 
Last October, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard completed 
As the race is on to distribute Covid-19 vaccines around the globe, horseshoe crabs, or more specifically, horseshoe crab blood, is playing a major role in ensuring that the vaccines are safe to be injected into peoples’ arms. In fact, horseshoe crab blood plays an important role in the safety of all vaccines, but the surge in demand for Covid-19 vaccines is raising new concerns about potential overharvesting. Here is a repost updated for the pandemic from about a year and a half ago.
The salvage of the stranded car carrier 
Thanks to Captain Richard Bailey for mentioning the time ball on the