Best Northwest Pacific

Strongylocentrotus nudus is a marine echinoderm native to the coastal waters of East Asia, notably harvested in Japan as a highly valued culinary seafood known for its premium quality.

Scaphechinus mirabilis is a living sand dollar described by Alexander Agassiz in 1864 and widely known from temperate sandy shores of the northwestern Pacific.

The Japanese spiny lobster, *Panulirus japonicus*, is a commercially important crustacean found throughout the northwest Pacific Ocean. It’s notable for its unique appearance and flavor profile, highly valued in Japanese cuisine. This species primarily inhabits temperate waters around Japan and is f...

The ocellated octopus of East Asia, widely distributed across Chinese, Japanese, and Korean coastal waters and commercially significant in regional fisheries.

An octopus found in East Asian coastal waters including Japan, China, and Korea, where it is commercially harvested as a seafood species in regional fisheries.

A small octopus distributed across East Asian coastal waters including China, Japan, and Korea, where it is commercially fished and widely consumed as food.

An octopus in the genus Cistopus found in the coastal and shelf waters of China and East Asia, characterized by the extensive inter-arm webbing typical of the genus.

An octopus found in coastal East Asian waters, particularly Japan and the Korean Peninsula, named for its highly variable skin patterning and coloration.

An octopus species found in North Pacific waters, particularly around Japan, characterized by a distinctively cone-shaped mantle and brownish coloration.

Heterololigo bleekeri, the spear squid, is a commercially important loliginid in Japanese fisheries, found across the northwest Pacific from Japan to the East China Sea.

Takuyo-Daiichi Guyot is a flat-topped submarine mountain in the western Pacific Ocean, notable for being mapped by Japanese research vessels and hosting cobalt-rich crusts.

Uroteuthis edulis, the swordtip squid, is a commercially significant species in the western Pacific, representing a major component of squid landings in Japan and China.

Ibacus ciliatus, the Japanese fan lobster, is a flattened slipper lobster distributed across the northwestern Pacific, particularly around Japan and Taiwan, where it is a minor fishery species.

Takuyo-Daini Guyot is a flat-topped underwater volcano in the Pacific Ocean, notable for its extensive geological surveying by Japan and significant deep-sea mineral deposits.

Markus-Necker Guyot is a prominent flat-topped seamount in the central Pacific Ocean, distinguished by its vast summit plateau and rich deposits of polymetallic crusts.

The Okhotsk ringed seal is a marine mammal subspecies native to Russia's Sea of Okhotsk, notable for its specialized ice-breeding habits and its crucial role within the local food web.

The Japanese sea lion was an aquatic mammal native to the Sea of Japan, notable for going extinct by the 1970s following decades of commercial overhunting and military exploitation.

Psychocidaris ohshimai is a cidaroid sea urchin described from the western Pacific Ocean and named in honor of a Japanese researcher.

A small octopus described from specimens collected off Taiwan, representing one of only two recognized species in the otherwise species-poor genus Cistopus.

A large flat-topped seamount located near the Ogasawara Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, notable for its distinct shape and volcanic origins during the Cretaceous period.

Takuyo-Daisan Guyot is a flat-topped seamount in the western Pacific Ocean, distinguished by its detailed mapping by Japanese researchers and valuable cobalt-rich crusts.

The Japanese slipper lobster, Parribacus japonicus, is a benthic marine crustacean native to the Pacific Ocean around Japan that is notably consumed as a local seafood delicacy.

Indo-Pacific octopus whose species epithet 'elegans' (Latin: elegant) reflects its comparatively graceful appearance among benthic octopods.

Small benthic octopus of the western Pacific found in Japanese coastal waters, described in the early 20th century with a relatively restricted range.

Takuyo-Daigo Guyot is a notable flat-topped submarine volcano in the Pacific Ocean, surveyed by Japanese scientists and recognized for its abundant deep-sea mineral resources.

An underwater flat-topped mountain located in the western Pacific Ocean, notable for its distinct geological formation resulting from ancient Cretaceous-era hotspot volcanism.

Erimo Guyot is an extinct, flat-topped submarine volcano in the Pacific Ocean, notable as a key geological feature of the ancient Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain.

Ryusei Guyot is a submerged, flat-topped volcanic mountain located in the Pacific Ocean, notable for its unique geological structure and the diverse marine ecosystems it supports.

A flat-topped submarine mountain in the North Atlantic Ocean, named after the survey ship USNS Michelson and notable for its significant deep-sea biological and geological habitats.