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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.

374 Results

Corals, Invertebrates

Acan lord coral

Acan lord corals range in color from red, orange and purple to blue and green. They have thick, bumpy ridges on their corallites...

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,...

Corals, Invertebrates

Angular sea whip

Angular sea whips are a type of coral known for their bushy, flat, and branching structure that originate from a single base....

Arrow crab

Arrow crabs are easily recognizable by their long, spider-like legs and pointy heads. Their bodies are yellow-brown with striking...

Corals, Invertebrates

Artichoke coral

Unlike many other corals, artichoke corals are solitary, meaning they do not form large colonies of many polyps. Artichoke corals...

Atlantic blue tang

Atlantic blue tangs are entirely light blue in color and disc-shaped. They have a spine at the base of their tails used to fend...

Atlantic deer cowrie

Atlantic deer cowries are aquatic snails that reside in benthic environments. These snails are broadcast spawners, meaning they...

Atlantic guitarfish

The Atlantic guitarfish is a smooth, streamlined fish with a diamond-shaped head and triangular fins extending from its sides....

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,...

Australian Spotted Jellyfish

Australian spotted jellyfish

Australian spotted jellyfish have rounded bells, or heads that can vary in color from clear to brown depending on their environment....

Australian stripey

The Australian stripey has distinctive striping that helps them blend into their environment and avoid predators. They have small...

Axolotl in Mote's Oh Baby Exhibit

Axolotl

Axolotls exist in a variety of colors, ranging from dark browns and greens to albino (pinkish-white). They have feathery gills...

Azure damselfish

Azure damselfish are two-toned, with a bright blue upper half and an orange-yellow bottom half. They have a fanned dorsal fin,...

Children Touching Animals at Contact Cove

Bahama sea star

This is one of the largest sea star species, growing up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) across. These sea stars play an important...

Coral Banded Shrimp

Banded coral shrimp

Banded coral shrimp are easy to spot with their striking red and white banded legs and body. They possess two small claws and...

Banded sunfish

Banded sunfish have yellow-tan bodies with five to seven dark vertical bars. They have rounded tail fins, pointed and upturned...

Banded tulip snail

These snails have marbled shells with purple-brown spiral bands. They prey on other invertebrates and protect themselves by closing...

Barred angelfish

Barred angelfish get their name from the dark black bars that run vertically from their head to the very tip of their tail. They...

Barred hamlet

Barred hamlets are yellow-white with six brown bars running vertically starting at the eye. They have an iridescent blue ring...

Barred thicklip wrasse

These fish have a striking appearance with a bright green face and tail, thick white stripes down their sides and hints of orange...

Bat star

Bat stars are typically vibrant red-orange in color, though they can also be found in shades of white, green, purple and pink....

Bay sea star

Bay sea stars range from yellow-orange to deep purple. Their five arms have tube feet underneath. Each tip has a light-sensing...

Beaugregory

Beaugregory fish are known for their bright blue heads and backs with yellow bellies. Juveniles have a dark spot where the dorsal...

Aquarium Photos

Belted sandfish

Belted sandfish are red-brown with darker splotches on their tail fins. Mote’s founder, Dr. Eugenie Clark, studied 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...

Bermuda chub

Bermuda chubs have oval, gray-silver bodies with occasional yellow highlights on their heads. Young chubs feature lighter gray...

Bicolor anthias

Male yellowback basslets have a violet body with yellow coloring back to the base of their tail. Females are lavender in color...

Bicolored foxface

The bicolored foxface fish is a small, strikingly colored species. The front two-thirds of its body features a deep blue-black...

Bicolour Anthias

Male yellowback basslets have a violet body with yellow coloring back to the base of their tail. Females are lavender in color...

Bignose unicornfish

The bignose unicornfish has an elongated, oval-shaped body with a distinctive, protruding snout. Despite the name, not all unicornfish...

Aquarium Photos

Black boring sea urchin

Black boring sea urchins have an oval shape and are covered in 100-150 short, thick spines that radiate outward from their center,...

Black crappie

Black crappies are small, compressed fish with black mottling pattern on their silvery-white bodies. Their fins and forked tail...

Black drum

The black drum is the largest species of drum. They have a highly arched back. Their backs are gray or black, and fade to a white...

Black mangrove

Black mangroves are native coastal plants. Despite its name, black mangroves have green leaves that are long and slender in shape....

Corals, Invertebrates

Black sea rod

Black sea rods are colonial soft corals with short, branching structures that can range in color from black and purple to green...

Black snook

Black snook have silvery-gray bodies with a single black line from their heads to their black tails.

Black tegula

This snail has a black shell that is white underneath and about as wide as it is tall. The snail’s head and foot are also...

Black triggerfish

Black triggerfish have a deep body with flattened sides that appears dark blue to black, with yellow highlights near the face....

Black-and-yellow rockfish

This fish has a long oval body that is black or dark brown with yellow or orange splotches. The belly is paler. They are opportunistic...

Fishes, Sharks & Rays

Black-spotted whiptail ray

Black-spotted whiptail rays are light grayish-brown on top, densely covered in dark spots surrounded with a ring of white. Their...

Blackbanded Sunfish

Blackbanded sunfish

Blackbanded sunfish have silvery-olive bodies with irregular, dark striping, including through their eyes. They have fanned dorsal...

Blackbar Soldierfish

Blackbar soldierfish

Blackbar soldierfish are mainly dark orange with white highlights on their fins and tail. They have large dark eyes and a black...

Blackcap basslet

The large black spot on a blackcap basslets’ head is the key feature that gives them their name, acting as a distinctive marking...

Blackfin tuna

Blackfin tuna are a migratory species, and are an important species to commercial and recreational fisheries. They have torpedo-shaped...

Blacknose shark

These sharks are named for the dark shading on the tip of their snout, which is more prominent in juveniles and fades with age....

Blacksmith

Also called the blacksmith chromis, this species of damselfish is dark blue to blackish with darker black spots on the backside...