This online image collection features a brief biography of ichthyologist Marcus Elieser Bloch and 34 of his hand-colored fish illustrations. The collection is from Diversity of Fishes, a distance-learning course that is part of the Museum's Seminars on Science, designed to help educators meet the new national science standards.

This webpage presents the searchable section of FishBase, a global information system with all you ever wanted to know about fishes. FishBase is a relational database with information that may be useful to professionals such as research scientists, fishery managers or zoologists. The site has pictures and information on more than 28500 species of fish.

This collection of fish-skull animations is from Diversity of Fishes, part of the Museum's Seminars on Science series. These distance-learning courses are designed to help educators meet the new national science standards. The three QuickTime movies take a look at the following aspects of jaw protrusion: how this feeding mechanism allows fish to extend their reach in order to envelope prey; how jaw protrusion increases mouth volume and forces water and prey into the fish's now tube-like jaws; the complexity of a fish's head, with more than 30 movable bony parts controlled by more than 50 muscles.

This BioBulletin Web site reports on an international scientific expedition in Gabon to study freshwater biodiversity. The site includes text, videos, photographs, and interviews with key scientists. The Introduction presents the idea that freshwater ecosystems hold great diversity and are at great risk. About the Expedition explains why Gabon's rain forests and freshwater ecosystems were selected for studyBiologists in Action is an annotated photo album of the expedition. Why Gabon? takes an in-depth look at this country on the west coast of Africa, including its people and history as well as its habitats and species. About Dr. Stiassny profiles this expedition scientist, who serves as the museum's Chair of the Department of Ichthyology.

This biodiversity Web site for kids, part of the museum's Kids in Our Halls program, was produced by high school interns at the Museum. In includes these sections: What Do You Think About Extinction?, an interview with kids visiting the Hall of Biodiversity; Did You Know?, a collection of fun facts that includes challenges to be solved; a five-question interactive biodiversity quiz; a Q&A interview with the head of the museum's Ichthyology Department; brief articles about the origins of chocolate and the ecological importance of coral reefs; a downloadable poster to color.

Meet the Marine BiOLogists is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, they meet three kids and one scientist who dive deep when it comes to learning about the ocean: Gabriela, an 11-year-old from New York whose interest in marine biology began with a family trip she took to the West Indies when she was five. Gwyneth, an 11-year-old from California who likes observing the sea birds when she visits her father's beach house. Luke, a nine-year-old from Belfast, Ireland, who watches the seals play in the Atlantic Ocean each summer during his two-month holiday at Portrush, on Ireland's north coast. Melanie Stiassny, an ichthyologist at the museum, who answers kids questions, including "Does identifying fish make a difference?" and "How do you know when you've discovered a new species?"

This collection of fun facts is from Sharks and Rays: Myth and Reality, part of the Museum's Seminars on Science series. These distance-learning courses are designed to help educators meet the new national science standards. A brief explanation page is provided for the six fun facts: Did you know sharks can gestate for up to two years? Did you know sharks and rays don't have bones? Did you know sharks and rays are cosmopolitan in distribution? Did you know an individual shark can produce upwards of 30,000 teeth in its lifetime? Did you know shark skin, or shagreen, feels rough if you stroke it in one direction, but smooth if you stroke it in the other.

This gallery of online resources is from the Museum's Seminars on Science, a series of distance-learning courses designed to help educators meet the new national science standards. This gallery, part of the Diversity of Fishes seminar, features two videos that both have printable PDF transcripts:About Water looks at how the water that covers two-thirds of our planet is distributed in oceans, polar caps, aquifers, rivers, and lakes. Planet Water discusses how freshwater fish which makes up one-quarter of all vertebrate biodiversity on Earth live in less than 1/100th of a percent of the planet's water.

This gallery of online resources is from the Museum's Seminars on Science, a series of distance-learning courses designed to help educators meet the new national science standards. Video Gallery: Man Bites Shark, part of the Sharks and Rays: Myth and Reality seminar, features three videos: Man Bites Shark I, which looks at the reasons sharks are threatened by people. Man Bites Shark II, which looks at Tampa Bay and how contamination from human development is affecting sharks. Man Bites Shark III, which looks at the role of sharks as a sentinel species, alerting us early on to problems within a habitat.

This video gallery is from the Museum's Seminars on Science, a series of distance-learning courses designed to help educators meet the new national science standards. Part of the Sharks and Rays: Myth and Reality seminar, Dissection Gallery features 16 videos, each with a printable PDF transcript:Introduction to DissectionOverview of SpecimenDissectionDiscussion of Alimentary TractLiver DissectionEsophagus and Stomach DissectionIntestine DissectionNostrils of the Shark RayElectric Organ of the Electric RayElectrosensory SystemLateral Line SystemMale Reproduction OverviewFemale Reproduction OverviewMating and FertilizationOvary DissectionUterus Dissection