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'.