Some of the cutest sea animals look as though they were designed for animation rather than life underwater. Dumbo octopuses have ear-like fins, tiny nudibranchs resemble cartoon sheep, juvenile boxfish look like swimming yellow cubes, and pygmy seahorses can be smaller than a fingernail. But appearances can be deceptive. Some of these cute sea creatures…
Ethan Caldwell — freediving and breath-hold performance writer The longest breath held voluntarily underwater by a man is 29 minutes 3 seconds, achieved by Croatian freediver Vitomir Maričić on June 14, 2025. The extraordinary performance took place in Opatija, Croatia, and remains the Guinness World Record. There is an important distinction, however: Maričić’s attempt allowed…
Encontrar animais marinhos em seu habitat natural é uma das grandes razões para continuar mergulhando. Podemos planejar uma viagem por causa dos recifes ou naufrágios, mas muitas vezes é aquele encontro inesperado com uma manta, um polvo ou um tubarão que acaba se tornando a lembrança mais forte. Algumas espécies são relativamente fáceis de encontrar….
Swimming beside a sea turtle is one of those wildlife encounters that rarely feels ordinary, even after years of diving. The best places to swim with turtles combine healthy feeding grounds or reef habitat with reasonably predictable sightings—and several require little more than a mask and snorkel. For easy snorkeling, Akumal, Maui, Marsa Alam and…
Ryan Mercer — recreational scuba training writer specializing in enriched-air diving and dive planning Nitrox diving lets recreational divers breathe a gas containing more oxygen and less nitrogen than ordinary compressed air. The practical benefit is straightforward: at the same depth, a diver generally absorbs nitrogen more slowly, which can extend the no-decompression limit (NDL)…