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KURE BEACH - In 2005, the aquarium unveiled its newest exhibit, the completed project of a recently received grant: Exotic Aquatics, the strange and beautiful life on Planet Ocean. The project presented an opportunity for the aquarium to expand the aquatic classroom to include fishy, or scaly-teachers, as the case may be, from the European and African coasts, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indo-Pacific Oceans.
The Exotic Aquatics exhibits are in an enclosed gallery built to house the aquarium’s temporary exhibitions, which help to ensure that the returning visitors’ experience is always new. A “temporary” exhibition for the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher refers to displays that stay for as many as four or five years. Exotic Aquatics is the aquarium’s chance to explore a sample of dramatically different forms of marine life than those found off North Carolina’s shores.
Four displays provide as many different viewing angles of sea snakes, cuttlefish, lionfish, and Pacific reef fish as is possible. Each tank is accompanied by a flat-panel, liquid-crystal computer monitor programmed with cutting-edge technology that provides colorful, high-resolution photos of each organism, as well as information about their biology and economic importance. The data is updated often to keep visitors as informed about the animals as are the scientists that study them.
Exotic Aquatics features two species of sea snake: the yellow-lipped, or banded sea krait (Laticauda colubrina), and the erabu sea krait (Laticauda semifasciata). They are part of a family of sea snake called “sea kraits,” which are distinguished by laying their eggs on land. The sea kraits are the only family of sea snake that does not spend their entire life at sea.
There are approximately 50 known species of sea snake, all of which are highly venomous. Sea snakes make some of the most potent venom in the world, although fatal bites to humans are extremely rare. One of the reasons scientists believe that sea snakes have developed such lethal venom is because of their small range of prey, which may include fish, fish eggs, crabs, squid and eels. Eels in particular have evolved to be quite resistant to sea snake venom.
The sea snakes glide under man-made tree roots resembling those from the snakes’ native mangrove swamps of Sri Lanka and New Guinea in their 1,000-gallon acrylic cylinder, the centerpiece of the Exotic Aquatics gallery. Two, 550-gallon tanks are mounted onto the wall behind it. One is shared by four lionfish and two scorpionfish, while the other is a living coral reef, a miniature of those that grow in the Pacific.
The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) share the shadows beneath their rock castles with their close relative and North Carolina native, the spotted scorpionfish (Scorpaenae plumieri). They are both known for their inconspicuous, venomous spines. Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific Oceans, but in 2000 they were confirmed as having established themselves in North Carolina.
Lionfish use their venomous spines only for defense. Scientists believe the venom is so effective that adult lionfish have no natural predators, although juveniles are on the menu for many ocean carnivores. The red lionfish is characterized by vertical maroon and white stripes, and its multiple, patterned extensions from its fins and face. It is graceful, using delicate dexterity to maneuver the extensions to appear larger to its prey, and to cut off any route of escape.
The lionfish could have been brought here in the ballast water of internationally traveling ships, or could have been released or accidentally escaped from home aquariums within the state. Scientists are surprised at how quickly the lionfish have established a thriving population. The computer monitors accompanying the exhibit compare and contrast the two species on display, and offer the theories that scientists believe best explain the arrival and success of the lionfish.
The Pacific reef display of Exotic Aquatics is a rare gem in aquariology: the entire habitat is real. The corals keep house, giant clams and anemones filter feed, algae grows along the rock surfaces and the fish graze upon them. Cardinalfish, hawkfish, clownfish, wrasses, surgeonfish, and nearly a dozen other fish species patrol their territory in dazzling color. The 550-gallon tropical miniature reef is a striking portrait of its wild relatives.
The strangest animal on display presents a strong argument to also be known as the most beautiful. The cuttlefish is as well known for its alien appearance as it is for its mesmerizing color changes. It is a cephalopod like the octopus and squid, and so it also lays claim to the distinguished title of being one of the most intelligent invertebrates in the world.
The cuttlefish resembles its squid relatives, but is not as slender. It has eight arms, equipped with suckers for gripping, feeling, and feeding. It also has two additional feeding tentacles that lay coiled in its beak until the cuttlefish locates its prey. It has excellent vision, and can be curious. The cuttlefish grows to be about a foot long and has a very short lifespan, ranging from 12-18 months.
The cuttlefish releases a cloud of ink when threatened, giving it time to escape, but is an avid hunter, using special skin cells called chromatophores to rapidly change colors according to its audience. The cuttlefish uses its color-changing ability to mesmerize prey, to communicate to other cuttlefish, and for camouflage, to escape detection by ocean predators.
Exotic Aquatics will alternate the species of cuttlefish on display throughout the exhibition, between the European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), and the pharaoh cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis). The European cuttlefish is found in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and along the west coast of Africa, while the pharaoh cuttlefish inhabits the Indo-Pacific region. The two species also differ markedly in their hunting strategies. The European cuttlefish prefers staying hidden beneath rocky ledges, and hunting along gravel ocean bottoms. The pharaoh prefers patrolling along the bottom of the open ocean.
The cuttlefish are displayed in a 600-gallon pedestal tank that extends several feet from the wall in front of the sea snake cylinder. They flutter against a dark background, illuminating their hypnotic color changes, and providing a proper introduction to Exotic Aquatics: strange and beautiful life on Planet Ocean.
For details, contact Bob Roush or Donna Moffitt at (910) 458-8257. For complete information and program schedules, visit: www.ncaquariums.com .
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Information about the North Carolina Aquarium is provided by the North Carolina State Parks Department.
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Last Revised: October 18, 2006 09:55 PM.
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