More Marine Animals

Striped burrfish are members of the pufferfish family. These fish can grow up to 10 inches in length. They have beak-like jaws that they use to eat their hard prey like shellfish, barnacles and crabs. Burrfish pump water into their bodies to expand their skin and push out their sharp spines. They have large, colored eyes that help them see even in murky water. Come check out these beautiful fish in our Sea Cavern and take part in our Feed a Puffer Fish Program!

The lookdown gets its name from its downward oriented eye, but is also called the moonfish for the Greek goddess of the moon,Selene. The average length of a lookdown is 10 inches. The longest lookdown known was18 inches. They feed on small squids, shrimps, polychaetes (chiefly marine worms usually with paired segmental appendages, separate sexes, and a free-swimming larva) and small fishes. Its range includes the West Atlantic, Nova Scotia to Florida, Coastal Central and South America, Bermuda and Gulf of Mexico. This is a benthopelagic, (living and feeding near the bottom as well as in midwaters or near the surface) and demersal (living near, deposited on, or sinking to the bottom of the sea) species found in shallow coastal waters. This species is found at depths to 175 ft.

The red drum uses its senses of sight and touch, and its downturned mouth, to locate forage on the bottom through vacuuming or biting. A 3-year-old red drum typically weighs 6 to 8 lb. The largest red drum on record weighed just over 94 lb and was caught in 1984 on Hatteras Island. They max at 5 ft in length. In the summer and fall, adult red drum feed on crabs, shrimp, and sand dollars; in the spring and winter, adults primarily feed on menhaden, mullet, pinfish, sea robin, lizardfish, spot, Atlantic croaker, and flounder. Red drum can live up to 60 years. Ranges include Southern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, including the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. Immature red drum prefer grass marsh areas of bays and estuaries when available. Both younger mature red drum (3-6 years of age) and bull red drum prefer rocky outcroppings including jetties and manmade structures, such as oil rigs and bridge posts.

The hogfish is from a family of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored (wrasse). They are unusually flat and oval shaped compared to other wrasse, with red irises, and colors that change through the stages of its life. They live in small groups of one dominant male and several females, until a female grows to be a certain size and age, and then she changes to a male. Hogfish reach a maximum length of 3 feet (0.91 m) and a maximum weight of 22 pounds (10 kg). Hogfish may live for up to 11 years. The hogfish are named after the way they root around in the sandy sea floor with their pointed snout, looking for crustaceans and mollusks. The strong jaws contain protruding anterior canine teeth that are well adapted for crushing hard-shelled prey items such as mollusks and crabs. The hogfish is highly valued as a food fish, with the flesh marketed both fresh and frozen. Human consumption of this fish has been linked to ciguatera poisoning (food poisoning caused by eating fish that is contaminated by ciguatera toxin, a heat-stable soluble compound).

The “Silver King” is one of the Tampa Bay area’s premiere sportfish for anglers looking for a serious battle. They are known as strong fighters and commonly jump multiple times while being caught. There is no food value for tarpon, so they are typically released back into the waterway. Tarpons grow to about 4 to 8 feet long and weigh 60 to 280 lbs. Their diet consists of insects, fish, crabs, and grass shrimp. Tarpon live 30 to 63 years. They are found throughout the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. Tarpons are also found along the eastern Atlantic coast from Senegal to South Angola. Although primarily a coastal marine fish, tarpon often swim up rivers to access freshwater marshes.

Also known as the clouded moray.