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MEET THE ANIMALS

Animal Encyclopedia

Learn about aquatic species

Mote scientists work with many of these species to learn more about their roles in marine ecosystems and how to conserve their populations. You can even visit some of these species at Mote! Click on each species to learn more.

Species Type

Exhibit Location

36 Results

Alligator snapping turtle

Uniquely, alligator snapping turtles are the only species of turtle to have eyes positioned on the side of their head. This widens...

American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in Myakka River State Park, Florida

American alligator

American alligators are endemic to the United States, meaning they don’t exist anywhere else in the world. More specifically,...

Atlantic Sea Nettle

Atlantic sea nettle

Closely related, bay and sea nettles differ in a few minuscule ways. Bay nettles are half the size of the sea nettles and typically...

Freshwater Florida

Fishes, Sharks & Rays

Atlantic stingray

Atlantic stingrays prefer to live in brackish or freshwater environments, burying themselves under silt and sand of estuaries,...

Children Touching Animals at Contact Cove

Bahama sea star

Bahama sea star

Aquarium Photos

Belted sandfish

Belted sandfish

Bermuda blue angelfish

Bermuda blue angelfish are hard to miss in reef communities with their bright blue and yellow coloring. Their bright colors making...

Sharks & Rays, Fishes

Brown banded bamboo shark

Brown banded bamboo shark

Public domain via: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paralithodes_californiensis_3.jpg

California king crab

California king crabs are able to live in a variety of environments because of their ability to adjust to changing water temperatures....

Caribbean king crab

Caribbean king crabs are highly adaptable invertebrates and are able to live in polar or temperate aquatic ecosystems. This species...

Common Clownfish

Clownfish

Clownfish and anemones live in a mutual symbiotic relationship with each other. Clownfish use anemones as shelter from predators...

Cobia

Cobia are highly adaptable fish, able to survive in environments with low oxygen and high water temperatures. Fairly anti-social,...

My complete revised and edited photos from the fall term as photography intern. These photos include multiple fish, otters, Cecil, Buffet, seahorses, crabs, and more.

Coney grouper

The coney grouper is hermaphroditic, meaning they are born female and mature into males, producing both eggs and sperm at different...

Cownose Ray at Mote

Sharks & Rays, Fishes

Cownose ray

Cownose ray

Crevalle jack

Crevalle jack

Diamondback Terrapin

Diamondback terrapin

Diamondback terrapins are strong swimmers thanks to their muscular legs and webbed toes. Living in dynamic tidal environments,...

Dwarf seahorse

Masters of disguise, dwarf seahorses can change the color of their skin to blend in with their surroundings. This is particularly...

Eastern indigo snake

Eastern indigo snakes differ from other snake species in many ways, like utilizing their extremely powerful jaws to capture their...

Photos of Aquarium Animals by Miguel Montalvo

Fishes, Octopus & Kin

Flamboyant cuttlefish

Flamboyant cuttlefish have the ability to change the color of their skin to camouflage themselves from predators nearby. They...

Florida manatee

Florida manatees have large, paddle-shaped tails that make gliding through water easy. They have vibrrissae, or whiskers around...

French angelfish

In a mutualistic relationship with coral reefs, French angelfish eat parasites and debris, while the reef provides shelter and...

Gag grouper

Gag groupers like to gather and socialize along rocky ledges and coral reef ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean....

Gopher tortoise

Gopher tortoise

Green Sea Turtle

Green sea turtle

The largest of all hard-shelled sea turtles, green sea turtles have special lenses in their eyes that refract sun rays allowing...

Green sea urchin

Green sea urchin

Hawksbill sea turtle

Hawksbill sea turtles have long, flat limbs perfect for gliding through the water with ease. Different from most other turtle...

Resident Sea Turtles

Kemp’s ridley sea turtle

Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are highly adaptable swimmers, spending the majority if their lives in the water. Triangular shaped...

Release of Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Loggerhead sea turtle

Loggerhead sea turtle

Spock the Loggerhead

Loggerhead sea turtle

Loggerheads have large paddle-like flippers making them master swimmers and divers. Their large eyes allow them to see in deeper...

ID information for this pufferfish is needed. It was living in the same exhibit as Hang Tough the green sea turtle as of March 2023.

Map puffer

When feeling threatened, the map puffer has the ability fill their stomachs with water and inflate their bodies to scare off predators....

Restored Mountainous Star Coral Spawning 2020

Mountainous star coral

Mountainous star coral has a unique algae called D symbionts that provide it food and energy. Found throughout the western Atlantic...

Manatees, Otters and Guests

North American river otter

The short statured North American river otter has highly adapted physical features that equips them for both aquatic and terrestrial...

Potbelly Seahorse

Potbelly seahorse

With dorsal and pectoral fins, the potbellied seahorse can steer, propel and stabilize itself while swimming. Their prehensile...

Roseate spoonbill

Pink in color with a long, narrow beak, roseate spoonbills are similar in appearance to flamingos, but they also have features...

Sergeant major

Highly social fish, sergeant major travel in schools near shallow reef communities, caves, shipwrecks and other sheltered areas...

Atlantic Tarpon

Tarpon

Tarpon have special lung like features in their swim bladder that allow them to breathe oxygen from the surface if there isn’t...