Great Hammerhead Shark

The Great Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna mokarran) is a very popular and recognizable shark indeed. They are the largest of the hammerhead species growing to lengths of 20 + feet long. While they are potentially dangerous, just being a large shark species, they rarely, if ever attack humans. They feed on other fish, crustaceans, and other small sharks.
 The Great Hammerhead Shark is found in warm tropical waters world wide.

Aquariums where the Great Hammerhead Shark can be seen are:

Pacific region:


Mountain region:


Central region:


Eastern region:

Georgia Aquarium  Atlanta, Georgia

Caribbean Spiny Lobster

The Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) is part of a family of 20 different lobster species such as the Australian Spiny Lobster, California Spiny Lobster, and the Chinese Spiny Lobster.
 They are known also as the Florida Spiny Lobster.
 They lack the powerful and intimidating large claws that their cousins from the cold Atlantic waters surrounding Maine have. Instead, they rely on their spiny armor for protection.
 They inhabit tropical and warm ocean waters in the Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.
 They are nocturnal scavengers.

 Sadly, they often fall prey to Moray eels, and Nurse Sharks.  

Aquariums where the Caribbean Spiny Lobster can be seen are:

Eastern Region:

Georgia Aquarium  Atlanta, Georgia

Whale Shark & Manta Ray

The Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest non- terrestrial (land) animal on the planet! They are huge, reaching a length of 32 feet (about 9.7 meters!) in adulthood, with unconfirmed reports of them being even larger than that.

They live in tropical and warm waters of the oceans around the world. They are considered a vulnerable species, despite a general 70 year life span in the wild.
 They feed on plankton and microscopic mammals. They are quite incapable of eating larger prey, as their throat is only about as large around as an American Quarter dollar (smaller than a Canadian loonie). Whale sharks are only found in one zoo out side of the orient, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta Georgia.

The Manta Ray has two subspecies: the Reef Manta Ray (Manta alfredi) and the Giant Ocean Manta Ray (Manta birostris). The Giant Ocean Manta Ray are the largest ray species in the world, reaching a size of approximately 23 feet (7 meters) or more. The Reef Manta Ray are a bit smaller, getting up to 11 feet (3.5 meters).

The Giant Ocean Manta Ray is found in tropical and warm waters, the world over. They feed on plankton and microscopic sea life.
 They are considered a vulnerable species. Only four aquariums in the world feature manta rays, and the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia is one of those four!

 
Both the Whale Shark (3 whale sharks, actually), and the Giant Ocean Manta Ray can be seen in Georgia Aquariums 6.3 MILLION GALLON exhibit called 'Ocean Voyages'.

Spotted Jellyfish

The Spotted Jellyfish (Mastigias papua) can be found in warm coastal waters in the South Pacific, around Hawaii, and around Puerto Rico. It is commonly called the lagoon jelly.
It grows to about 5.5 inches and it feeds on zooplankton.

These jellies can be seen at these aquariums:

Hawaii region
Waikiki Aquarium  Honolulu, Hawaii

Pacific region
Vancouver Aquarium  Vancouver B.C., Canada
Monterey Bay Aquarium  Monterey, California

Eastern region
Mystic Marine Life Aquarium  Mystic, Connecticut

Sea Nettle

There are 12 valid subspecies of the Sea Nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens), and they are found in abundance in oceans all over the world. The two most known about are Chrysaora quinquecirrha which is found in the Atlantic waters along the East coast of North America, and the second most common (pictured here) is the Chrysaora fuscescens found along the West coast of North America in the north east Pacific.

Their 'bell' gets about 6 - 8 inches wide and their long tentacles enable them to eat much larger prey than most jellyfish species.
The 12 subspecies of Sea Nettle are:
Chrysaora achlyos
Chrysaora chinensis
Chrysaora colorata
Chrysaora fulgida
Chrysaora fuscescens
Chrysaora hysoscella
Chrysaora lactea
Chrysaora melanaster
Chrysaora pacifica
Chrysaora pentastoma
Chrysaora plocamia
Chrysaora quinquecirrha

Aquariums that these jellies can be seen at are:

Hawaii region
Waikiki Aquarium  Honolulu, Hawaii features the Atlantic Sea Nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha)

Pacific region
Vancouver Aquarium  Vancouver B.C., Canada
 Monterey Bay Aquarium  Monterey, California features the Black Sea Nettle (?)
Aquarium of the Bay  San Francisco, California features the Pacific Sea Nettle (Chrysaora pacifica)
Aquarium of the Pacific  Long Beach, California
The Birch Aquarium  La Jolla, California

Fried Egg Jellyfish

The Fried Egg Jelly (Cotylorhiza tuberculata) Ranges from Alaska to California, and in cold/ temperate waters around the world.
Not much to say, they look like a fried egg!

They can be seen at these aquariums:

Pacific region
Vancouver Aquarium   Vancouver B.C., Canada
 Monterey Bay Aquarium  Monterey, California

White spotted Bamboo shark

The White spotted Bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) pictured above, are pups born at the Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver B.C., Canada. They are a type of carpet shark and do not need to continue swimming to breathe, but can lay on the ocean floor for extended amounts of time.
Adults get up to 1 meter (3 feet) in length. They are nocturnal and are not a threat to humans. This species, however, is a near threatened animal.
They are found in coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean and are commonly found around Indonesia, but range from Japan to India.In Taiwan and Madagascar, they are consumed for food.
These sharks feed on small fish and invertebrates.

These sharks can be seen in these aquariums:

Pacific region
Vancouver Aquarium   Vancouver B.C., Canada
Aquarium of the Pacific  Long Beach, California

Eastern region
Mystic Aquarium  Mystic, Connecticut
Sea World Orlando  Orlando, Florida