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Blue-Footed Booby
Photograph by Tim Laman
Not just attractive physical features, the blue feet of this booby can be used to cover its chicks and keep them warm.
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Bottlenose Dolphin Peaking Above Water
Photograph by Bill Curtsinger
Their intelligence, friendly disposition, and "smiling" faces make dolphins popular in large aquariums and with divers.
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Hammerhead Shark
Photograph by Brian J. Skerry
Hammerheads are aggressive hunters, feeding on smaller fish, octopuses, squid, and crustaceans. They do not actively seek out human prey, but are very defensive and will attack when provoked.
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Red-Footed Booby on a Tree Branch
Photograph by Tim Laman
Smallest of the boobies, the red-foot feeds at sea, nests on the ground, and perches in coastal trees.
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Green Sea Turtle
Photograph by Tim Laman
Green sea turtles are reptiles whose ancestors evolved on land and took to the sea to live about 150 million years ago. They are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct.
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Black-Browed Albatross
Photograph by Steve Raymer
Wide-winged and long-lived, albatrosses are rarely seen on land, preferring to stay out on the ocean except to mate and raise their young.
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Marine Iguana Basking in the Sun
Photograph by Rob Stewart/Animals Animals—Earth Scenes
Found only on the Galápagos Islands, marine iguanas often wear distinctive white "wigs" of salt expelled from glands near their noses.
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Galápagos Tortoise With Neck Outstretched
Photograph by Tim Laman
The largest of the tortoises, the endangered Galápagos tortoise is incredibly long-lived. One captive tortoise lived over 150 years.
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Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Photograph by Nick Caloyianis
A hawksbill turtle swims just above the seafloor with flippers spread like wings. Hawksbills get their name from their tapered heads, which end in a sharp point resembling a bird's beak.
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National Geographic Magazine
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The Beauty of Insect Eggs
Engineered for survival, insect eggs hang on and hatch wherever their parents deposit them.
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Eels Photo Gallery
The freshwater eel is one of the few fishes to spawn in the ocean and spend its adulthood in lakes, rivers, and estuaries.
