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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

Leaf plating montipora

Leaf plating montipora range in color from purple and blue to brown. They grow in whorl-like formations with flat plates extending...

Leatherback sea turtle

Unlike other turtles, leatherbacks’ have soft shells that aren’t directly visible because they’re covered by...

Lemon goby

Lemon gobies are small fish that range in color from yellow to green and black. They have bright blue stripes near their eyes,...

Lesser devil ray

Lesser devil rays get their name from their cephalic fins- two flexible fins near the front of their heads. When they are not...

Lesser siren

These freshwater salamanders have long, snake-like bodies, varying in color between gray, brown and black. Lesser sirens have...

Corals, Invertebrates

Lesser starlet coral

Lesser starlet coral grows in small mounds or encrusting sheets. Each corallite is shaped like a small star, giving this coral...

Lightfoot snail

Shaped like a spiral cone, lightfoot snails can range from orange to yellow in color. Each spiral has white ridges and grooves,...

Lightning Whelk

Lightning whelk

Lightning whelks are large, long and slender. They have brown and white spiraling stripes on their shells. Unlike most other gastropod’s...

Lined Seahorses

Lined Seahorse

Lined seahorses rely on their coloring and texture to camouflage themselves into their environment for protection from predators....

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...

Long-armed hermit crab

Long-armed hermit crabs can be white, green, gray or brown in color depending on their environment. This hermit crab has long...

Bonaire Underwater Coral Photos

Long-spine porcupinefish

Long-spine porcupinefish look very similar to other porcupinefish species, except they have dark brown spotting all over their...

Longspine Sea Urchin

Long-spined sea urchin

These round urchins have long-spines extending out from every side. These spines are long, thin and hollow, making them easy to...

Longsnout butterflyfish

Longsnout butterflyfish are named after their long faces. They have yellow-orange topsides and white bellies. Dark brown coloring...

Longspine squirrelfish

Longspine squirrelfish have flat, orange and white striped bodies and forked, yellow-orange tails. They have small spines that...

Lori’s anthias

Lori’s anthias are pinkish-purple in color with bright red vertical bars running down their back. They have highlights of...

Mahi-mahi

Mahi-mahi, also commonly referred to as dolphinfish, are large, brightly colored fish. The coloration of the mahi-mahi can range...

Maiden goby

Maiden gobies have long, white bodies with irregular orange spotting from their gills to the base of their tail. They have a split...

Manatee grass

Manatee grass is long, slender and tubular in shape and bright yellow-green in color.

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....

Marine betta

Marine bettas are dark brown or black in color with a single white dot on each scale. Near the base of their tail and their dorsal...

Masked goby

Masked gobies are small marine fish commonly found in coral communities close to shore. They are translucent with a horizontal...

Corals, Invertebrates

Massive starlet coral

Massive starlet corals are groups of reddish-brown polyps, taking the shape of boulders or low-lying domes.

Looe Key Reef Pictures

Mat anemone

Mat anemones can be various colors including blue, green, pink and yellow. They have hardened circles around each polyp, giving...

Midnight parrotfish

Midnight parrotfish range from blue to black in color. They have scales all over their body excluding their head. A bright blue...

Mimic surgeonfish

Mimic surgeonfish gave yellow-brown bodies with a gray head, fins and forked tail. They also have a large black bar running from...

Moon jellyfish

These jellyfish are almost completely see-through. Their reproductive organs produce a flower-like shape on the top of their bell....

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...

Invertebrates, Corals

Mushroom coral

Mushroom corals are super diverse with infinite color combinations and textures. They have hair-like tentacles giving them a furry...

Corals, Invertebrates

Mustard hill coral

Mustard hill coral colonies are usually large, encrusting onto other surfaces as it grows. This coral species gets its name from...

Multi-barred Cardinalfish

Mutli-barred cardinalfish

Mutli-barred cardinalfish are small in size with large eyes, a wide mouth and two dorsal fins. They’re pinkish brown in...

Napoleon wrasse

Napoleon wrasses can range in color from blue-green to purple-blue. These wrasses’ foreheads have a knob that protrudes...

Neon goby

Neon gobies have dark blue-black bodies with a bright blue stripe starting at their eyes and ending at the base of their tail.

North American river otter

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

Northern sea nettle

The northern sea nettle can range in color from pink and orange to white and yellow. Their bell, or head, has darker radial lines...

Nurse shark

Nurse sharks range from yellow-tan to brown in color. Near their mouth, they have two barbells similar to catfish. Their teeth...

Ocean Surgeonfish

Ocean surgeon

Ocean surgeon fish have oval-shaped bodies, yellow to a pale green-gray in color. Their fins are a dark blue with alternating...

Ocean whitefish

Ocean whitefish are light blue-gray in color with highlights of yellow on their fins and tail. They have short, pointed faces...

Olive rockfish

Olive rockfish have an elongated, greenish-gray dorsal side adorned with yellow spots, while their fins and tail stand out in...

Corals, Invertebrates

Omelette leathery soft coral

Leathery soft corals can range in color from pink, yellow and brown to blue and green. They grow mushroom-shaped polyps and form...

Orange Shoulder Tang

Orange shoulder tang

Orange shoulder tangs are small, compressed oval-shaped fish. Their name comes from the large orange spot near their gills. They’re...

Corals, Invertebrates

Orange spiny rod coral

This species of coral grows long, tall and bushy branches from its base. Despite its name, orange spiny rod coral can also be...

Orbiculate batfish

Orbiculate batfish are round and flat. They have silver bodies, yellow tails, black fins and two opaque black stripes running...

Palette Surgeonfish (Regal Tang)

Pacific blue tang

Pacific blue tangs are small fish with royal blue bodies and yellow tails. On their topside is a hollow black oval, running from...

Pacific sea nettle

These sea jellies have a striking appearance with their bright orange coloring and large size. Their bell, or head, attaches to...

Pajama Cardinalfish

Pajama Cardinalfish

Pajama cardinalfish are small in size with large, red eyes, a yellow head and a dark brown tail fins. Their white scales are lined...

Pakistani butterflyfish

Pakistani butterflyfish are gray with green-yellow dorsal fins and small orange tails. They have a vertical white stripe near...

Palometa

Palometa are small silvery fish with dark black fins and shading along their forked tails.