| Click the links below to learn more about these fascinating animals |
|
|
 |
Bluefish
Common Name: Bluefish
Latin Name: Pomatomus saltatrix
Size/weight: Rarely seen larger than 20 pounds and 40 inches long.
Range: Western Atlantic populations range from Canada in the north to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in the south (depending on season).
|
 |
|
Habitat: Adults inhabit coastal waters and are, at times, found in estuaries, harbors and off sandy beaches.
Diet: The bluefish’s diet includes squid, crabs, butterfish, menhaden, shad, herring, hake and smaller bluefish. Bluefish are known as very aggressive fish and will often leave partially eaten or maimed prey behind.
Predators: Sharks, tuna, striped bass, swordfish and humans.
Description: Actually more green than blue, bluefish have strong, streamlined bodies and sharp, conical teeth.
Conservation Note: Many fisheries managers believe that bluefish are being over-fished; populations may be on the brink of decline.
On Exhibit in the Open Ocean exhibit
Top
|
 |
|
Cod
Common Name: Atlantic cod
Latin Name: Gadus Morhua
Size/weight: Up to 51 inches long and 77 pounds.
Range: Found on both sides of the North Atlantic, on our side from Greenland to Cape Hatteras.
|
 |
|
Habitat: Near the bottom of the water column in areas range from near shore to the edge of the continental shelf.
Diet: Cod are omnivorous, feeding on a wide variety of fish and invertebrates.
Predators: Humans, larger fish.
Description: Greenish, brown or grey dorsally, lighter shading ventrally. Prominent barbel on chin. Spots on back and sides. Three dorsal fins and two anal fins.
Conservation Note: Although fishing for cod was once a dominant part of the New England economy, in recent decades overfishing has severely depleted cod stocks.
On Exhibit in the Wreck habitat exhibit
Top
|
|
|
Cow-nose Ray
Common Name: Cownose ray
Latin Name: Rhinoptera bonasus
Size/weight: Up to 45 inches wide (wing tip to wing tip) and 50 pounds.
Range: Massachusetts to Brazil
Habitat: Sandy, soft bottom areas.
Diet: Clams, oysters and bottom-dwelling invertebrates.
|
 |
|
Predators: Sharks are the cownose ray’s main predators. Humans; disc-shaped cutouts of ray wings are sometimes passed off as scallop. Cownose rays are also sometimes cut up as bait for other fish.
Description: Grey on top and white on bottom, cownose rays have broad wings, a long thin tail, and a notched head that some say resembles a cow’s muzzle (hence the name “cownose” ray). Sharp, venomous spine (stinger) at the base of the tail. A relative of sharks and skates, the cownose ray’s skeleton is made up of cartilage, not bones.
Conservation Note: Not listed as endangered or vulnerable.
On Exhibit in the ray touch pool
Top
|
|
|
Spider Crab
Common Name: Portly spider crab
Latin Name: Libinia emarginata
Size/weight: Body can be up to 4 inches in diameter with long legs extended outward increasing their overall size.
Range: Nova Scotia to Florida or Texas.
|
 |
|
Habitat: Variety of bottom habitats in shallow and relatively deep water.
Diet: A scavenger, the spider crab finds a variety of food on the ocean floor, including dead fish and attached animals (like sea squirts), sometimes even sea stars.
Predators: Gulls and other shore birds.
Description: Brown to dull yellow with white claws; small, round, spiny body with pointy beak and long, thin legs ending in pincers of equal size and shape. Sometimes called the “decorator crab” for it’s habit of covering itself with seaweed, algae and other objects as a means of camoflage.
Conservation Note: Not listed as endangered or vulnerable.
On Exhibit in theTouch Tank and Salt Marsh Gallery
Top
|
|
|
Hermit Crab
Common Name: Flatclaw hermit Crab
Latin Name: Pagurus pollicaris
Size/weight: About 1⁄2 inch long & wide for P. longicarpus, one inch or more for P. pollicaris
Range: Gulf of Maine to Gulf of Mexico
|
 |
|
Habitat: Sandy and other bottom habitats in depths up to 150 feet.
Diet: Food (detritus and algae) scavenged off the bottom and within the sand and mud.
Description: The hermit crab is famous for borrowing the shells or snails or other animals as their own home. Inside the shell, their hermit crab’s body is long, soft and roughly cylindrical with small appendages, antennae and prominent eye stalks.
Conservation Note: Not listed as endangered or vulnerable.
On Exhibit in theTouch Tank and Salt Marsh Gallery
Top
|
|
|
Common Name: Horseshoe crab
Latin Name: Limulus polyphemus
Size/weight: Up to 24 inches long and 12 inches wide; 3 or 4 pounds.
Range: Found from Maine to the Yucatan (Mexico).
|
 |
|
Habitat: Estuaries to continental shelf
Diet: Worms, bivalves and other bottom dwelling creatures.
Predators: Migratory shorebirds, humans (fishing bait).
Description: The horseshoe crab’s name is somewhat misleading. Although it is shaped like a horseshoe, it’s no crab. The horseshoe crab is an arachnid, a class of arthropods that also includes scorpions, spiders, mites and ticks. With two main eyes, two simple (light sensing only) eyes and a mouth on the bottom, the horseshoe crab is well suited to life on the bottom. A brownish segmented shell offers protection and a pointed tail helps the animal right itself; it’s not used for attacking or even self-defense.
Conservation Note: After surviving on Earth for 300 million years, horseshoe crab numbers are declining.
A local study, in which The Maritime Aquarium participates, is looking to find out the health and habits of the horseshoe crab population in Long Island Sound.
On Exhibit in the Touch Tank, schooling exhibit, and Open Ocean exhibit
Top
|
|
|
Moon Jellies
Common Name: Moon jelly
Latin Name: Aurelia aureta
Size/weight: Up to 16 inches in diameter
Range: Arctic to Florida or Mexican; in the Pacific from Alaska to southern California
|
 |
|
Habitat: Floats near surface in offshore waters.
Diet: Small plankton, fish eggs, occasionally other developing jellies.
Predators: Sea turtles, sunfish.
Description: Translucent; recognizable for the four horseshoe-shaped organs in their center and a single row of short, hair-like tentacles around the bell. Since they’re not really fish, it is more proper now to call them “jellies.” Moon jellies are only mildly toxic; the sting is likely to cause nothing more than a persistent, itchy rash.
Conservation Note: An abundant, non-threatened species.
On Exhibit in the Jellyfish Encounter exhibit
Top
|
|
|
Common Name: Northern lobster
Latin Name: Homarus americanus
Size/weight: Up to 40 pounds and 24 inches long
Range: Labrador to Cape Hatteras; most common from Nova Scotia to New York
|
 |
|
Habitat: Crevices or burrows in rocky reefs and muddy bottom habitats
Diet: Fish, mollusks and other crustaceans scavenged on or near the bottom.
Predators: Sharks, cod, wolfish, goosefish, and people with melted butter.
Description: Most common coloration is greenish brown, but genetic and other factors can produce lobsters of a wide variety of colors. Two large front claws, one for grabbing and crushing, the other for ripping and tearing. Eight legs extend from the carapace, segmented abdomen and wide tail.
Conservation Note: Lobster populations have been rebounding since a devastating die-off in Long Island Sound in 1999. But warming waters due to climate change threaten the lobster's long-term prospects in Long Island Sound.
On Exhibit in the Rocky bottom and muddy bottom habitat exhibits
Top
|
|
|
Common Name: Atlantic menhaden
Latin Name: Brevoortia tyrannus
Size/weight: Up to one foot in length.
Range: Nova Scotia to Florida
|
 |
|
Habitat: Nearshore waters.
Diet: Plankton.
Predators: Bluefish, striped bass, weakfish, mackerel, bluefin tuna and sharks. Also some whales and porpoises.
Description: Menhaden are a member of the herring family with silvery sides and a black spot behind the gills. Fins lack spines.
Conservation Note: Vulnerable in some areas.
On Exhibit in the Schooling exhibit
Top
|
|
|
Common Name: Atlantic salmon (east coast)
Latin Name: Salmo salar
Size/weight: Up to 4.5 feet and 80 pounds
Range: Arctic Circle to Delaware River, also some landlocked populations.
|
 |
|
Habitat: Coastal waters, as well as freshwater rivers and lakes.
Diet: Herring, capelin, sand eels and large plankton.
Predators: Seals, sharks, pollack, tuna, skates, halibut, cod, striped bass, bluefish; humans.
Description: Long body, brownish above with silvery sides featuring black spots. Lower jaw hooked up in breeding males, who may also feature red areas on their sides. Spawns in fresh water, but spends most of its life at sea.
Conservation Note: Listed on the U.S. Endangered Species List due to overfishing, disease, interaction with hatchery populations, and dammed and polluted spawning rivers.
On Exhibit in the Watershed Gallery
Top
|
|
|
Common Name: Lined seahorse
Latin Name: Hippocampus erectus
Size/weight: Up to 5”
Range: Nova Scotia to Argentina; Bermuda and Gulf of Mexico
|
 |
|
Habitat: Found in shallow waters among grasses
Diet: Brine shrimp and other live zooplankton.
Predators: Crabs, skates and rays; humans.
Description: Body is upright with a head (shaped liked a horse head) perpendicular to body. Dorsal fin is fan shaped. Tail is prehensile and lacks a caudal fin. Color varies from light brown to almost black and can change depending on the background. It is the male of the species that gives birth.
Conservation Note: Considered a vulnerable species due to pollution, habitat destruction and overfishing (with a high demand from the Asian market for use in traditional medicines, and as a desirable fish for home aquariums).
On Exhibit in the Salt Marsh Gallery, Gulf Stream exhibit, and Turtle Exhibit (with jawfish)
Top
|
|
|
Common Name: Forbes sea star
Latin Name: Asterias forbesi
Size/weight: Five or so inches in diameter
Range: Gulf of Maine to Texas
|
 |
|
Habitat: Low tide line to depths of 160 feet; rock, gravel or sandy bottom.
Diet: Clams, scallops and oysters. Stomach is everted into the prey animal, where it digests the tissue.
Predators: Spider crabs and, occasionally, lobsters.
Description: Five arms radiating from a central core with an eye at the end of each arm, thousands of tiny tube feet, and a mouth on bottom. Tough, almost spiny skin; color brownish red or orange. The sea star is able to regenerate severed arms.
Conservation Note: Not listed as threatened or endangered.
On Exhibit in the Salt Marsh Gallery, Touch Tank, Pilings habitat exhibit, and wreck habitat exhibit.
Top
|
|
|
Common Name: Atlantic wolffish
Latin Name: Anarhichas lupus
Size/weight: Up to five feet long and 40 pounds; average is 3 feet and 15 pounds.
Range: From Greenland to New Jersey
|
 |
|
Habitat: Hard bottoms from near shore down to 500 feet.
Diet: Mollusks, echinoderms and crustaceans.
Predators: Humans, cod and some marine mammals.
Description: Long body that tapers down to a slender tail; blueish grey with irregular vertical bars on its sides. Long dorsal fin and protruding teeth.
Conservation Note: Not listed as threatened or endangered.
On Exhibit in the Wreck habitat exhibit
|
|
|
|
Frogs
Common Name: Red-Eyed Tree Frog
Latin Name: Agalychnis callidryas
Size/weight: Small (2 to 3 inches)
Range: Southern Mexico down through Central America to northeastern Colombia.
|
|
|
Habitat: Lowland and hillside tropical forests, often near ponds and rivers.
Diet: They are nocturnal hunters of flies, moths, caterpillars, beetles, ants, spiders, crickets and other invertebrates.
Predators: Their markings help camouflage them from bats, snakes, lizards and birds. They are not poisonous.
Description: Neon green back and a white stomach. The sides of the frog are purple or blue, with vertical white stripes and orange toes. Both females and males have bulging red eyes with vertically narrowed pupils resemble the eyes of domestic cats.
Conservation Note: Though not considered to be threatened or endangered, deforestation continues to destroy red-eyed tree frog habitat throughout its range. They are also captured for zoos and the pet trade.
Download a fun Frogs Activity Sheet
On Exhibit on the Second Floor Maritime Hall
|
|
|
|
