Biomes Marine Biology Center Biomes Marine Biology Center review and species list

ThylacineAlive

ThylacineAlive

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Back at the end of November I visited the Biomes Marine Biology Center for the first time. This small aquarium is one that I’ve known about for years, being only 10 minutes or so from where my aunt and grandmother live in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. I’d never visited, however, due to not having time, not having a vehicle, and/or simply not knowing it was a public aquarium. The aquarium is small, located inside what looks like an old warehouse, and is comprised of three rows of tanks. The main row begins with a mangrove enclosure, which is one of only a few examples of natural exhibitry here. The second row (to one’s left on entry) begins with a small children’s play area with mostly pet store species exhibited along the wall. The third row (to one’s right on entry) begins with a small reptile area featuring mainly native turtles as well as some common pet store species. The majority of collection comprises of wild caught native Western North Atlantic species, including many that are rarely seen in captivity. Most of the tanks are your average pet store variety and hold (mainly) smaller fish/invertebrate species or small specimens of larger species. They have a series of larger makeshift tanks as well, most of which look like small touch pools with “do not touch” signs on them. The signage in general is ok but not great. Most species are signed and have a little information on them, but very few include scientific names and there are a few tanks that are completely unlabeled. I asked the owner why there were no scientific names and he told me he used to include them but removed them because they confused visitors… This facility definitely won’t be winning any awards or ZooChat points, but overall it’s a decent and interest place. It’s very clearly someone’s passion project and I think they’ve done fairly well here. The aquarium is only 20 minutes from Roger Williams Park Zoo so I’d definitely recommend checking it out if anyone’s ever visiting the state.

I do not know how often the collection changes out, however this was the species list I could identify as of 11/30/18:

Fishes
Gulf Toadfish Opsanus beta
Green Moray Eel Gymnothorax funebris
Bandtail Puffer Sphoeroides spengleri
Northern Puffer Sphoeroides maculatus
Planehead Filefish Stephanolepis hispidus
Atlantic Spadefish Chaetodipterus faber
Atlantic Sergeant Major Abudefduf saxatilis
Norfolk Spot Croaker Leiostomus xanthurus
Atlantic Lookdown Selene vomer
Atlantic Moonfish Selene setapinnis
Black-Tailed Humbug Damselfish Dascyllus melanurus
Bicolor Damselfish Stegastes partitus
Mangrove Snapper Lutjanus griseus
Tautog Tautoga onitis
Cunner Wrasse Tautogolabrus adspersus
American Conger Eel Conger oceanicus
Brown-Banded Bamboo-Shark Chiloscyllium punctatum
Chain Dogfish Scyliorhinus retifer
Striped Mullet Mugil cephalus
Northern Searobin Prionotus carolinus
Striped Burrfish Chilomycterus schoepfi
Long-Spined Porcupinefish Diodon holocanthus
Mummichog Killifish Fundulus heteroclitus macrolepidotus
Northern Sheepshead Pupfish Cyprinodon variegatus variegatus
Spotfin Butterflyfish Chaetodon ocellatus
Four-Spined Stickleback Apeltes quadracus
Atlantic Three-Spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus
Great Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda
Yellow Crevalle Jack Caranx hippos
Florida Pompano Trachinotus carolinus
Great Pompano Trachinotus goodei
Common Remora Remora remora
Little Skate Leucoraja erinacea
Bermuda Blue Angelfish Holacanthus bermudensis
Grey Triggerfish Balistes capriscus
Queen Triggerfish Balistes vetula
Hogchoker Freshwater Flounder Trinectes maculatus
Striped Searobin Prionotus evolans
Atlantic Scup Stenotomus chrysops
Silver Jenny Mojarra Eucinostomus gula
Summer Flounder Paralichthys dentatus
Red-Finned Sharkminnow Epalzeorhynchos frenatum
Black Skirt Tetra Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
Colombian Tetra Hyphessobrycon columbianus
Freshwater Angelfish Pterophyllum scalare
Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus
Domestic Goldfish Carassius auratus auratus
American Eel Anguilla rostrata
Pacific Chestnut Moray Gymnothorax castaneus
Spotted Scorpionfish Scorpaena plumieri
High-Hat Drum Pareques acuminatus
Foureye Butterflyfish Chaetodon capistratus
Atlantic Reef Butterflyfish Chaetodon sedentarius
Black Sea Bass Centropristis striata
Striped Bass Morone saxatilis
Atlantic Anglerfish Lophius americanus
Northern Kingcroaker Menticirrhus saxatilis
Squeteague Weakfish Cynoscion regalis
Common Pinfish Lagodon rhomboides
Spottail Pinfish Diplodus holbrookii
Striped Killifish Fundulus majalis
Epaulette Shark Hemiscyllium ocellatum
Yellow Stingray Urobatis jamaicensis
Atlantic Blue-Spotted Cornetfish Fistularia tabacaria
Atlantic Needlefish Strongylura marina
Red Lionfish Pterois volitans
Winter Flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus
Atlantic Striped Blenny Chasmodes bosquianus
Feather Blenny Hypsoblennius hentz
Dusky Smooth Dogfish Mustelus canis canis
Clearnose Skate Raja eglanteria
Ocean Pout Zoarces americanus
Buffalo Trunkfish Lactophrys trigonus
Honeycomb Cowfish Acanthostracion polygonius
Scrawled Cowfish Acanthostracion quadricornis
Northern Pipefish Syngnathus fuscus
Red Grouper Epinephelus morio
Glasseye Snapper Heteropriacanthus cruentatus
Western Atlantic Sea Raven Hemitripterus americanus
Skilletfish Gobiesox strumosus
Longfin Bannerfish Heniochus acuminatus
Striped Doctorfish Tang Acanthurus chirurgus
Pacific Blue Tang Paracanthurus hepatus
Yellow Tang Zebrasoma flavescens
Short Bigeye Pristigenys alta
Slender Sharksucker Echeneis naucrates
Convict Cichlid Amatitlania nigrofasciata
Blue-Grey Mbuna Pseudotropheus johannii
Common Clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris
Pictus Catfish Pimelodus pictus
Redfin Parrotfish Sparisoma rubripinne
Lined Seahorse Hippocampus erectus
Unidentified Sparidae sp.

Invertebrates
Atlantic Pygmy Octopus Octopus joubini
Long-Clawed Hermit Crab Pagurus longicarpus
Atlantic Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus
Forbes Sea Star Asterias forbesi
Atlantic Purple Sea Urchin Arbacia punctulata
Black-Fingered Mud Crab Panopeus herbstii
Common American Shore Shrimp Palaemonetes vulgaris
Common European Grass Shrimp Palaemon elegans
Coastal Mud Shrimp Upogebia affinis
Northern Brown Shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus
Short-Spined Brittle Star Ophioderma brevispina
Sargassum Swimming Crab Portunus sayi
Striped Shore Crab Pachygrapsus crassipes
Atlantic Rock Crab Cancer irroratus
European Green Crab Carcinus maenas
Atlantic Ghost Crab Ocypode quadrata
Jonah Crab Cancer borealis
American Lobster Homarus americanus
Knobbed Whelk Busycon carica
Channeled Whelk Busycotypus canaliculatus
Brazilian Salmon-Pink Bird-Eating Spider Lasiodora parahybana
Unidentified Libinia sp.
Unidentified crab sp.

Reptiles
Green Anole Anolis carolinensis
Standing’s Day Gecko Phelsuma standingi
Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina carolina
Red-Eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans
Common Musk Turtle Sternotherus odoratus
Alligator Snapping Turtle Macrochelys temminckii
Yellow-Bellied Slider Trachemys scripta scripta
Common Mud Turtle Kinosternon subrubrum
Western Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta bellii
Common Boa Boa constrictor
African Spurred Tortoise Centrochelys sulcata
Tropical Girdled Lizard Cordylus tropidosternum

Amphibians
Axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum
Yellow-Banded Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates leucomelas
Green-and-Black Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates auratus
African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis

~Thylo
 
That is a large variety of fish species, makes it sound like a bigger facility than it is...there are many species I’m sure I have never seen in my extensive US aquarium visits!
 
geomorph said:
That is a large variety of fish species, makes it sound like a bigger facility than it is...there are many species I’m sure I have never seen in my extensive US aquarium visits!
Click to expand...

Indeed! I was very surprised with how large their collection really is. Just checked and I got 21 fish lifers and 13 invertebrate lifers at this collection-- and I've seen over 1250 fish and nearly 500 invertebrates (not counting unidentified species obviously).

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
and I've seen over 1250 fish and nearly 500 invertebrates (not counting unidentified species obviously).

~Thylo
Click to expand...
Is it hard keeping a list for all those animals? I was considering making species life lists but once I realized how hard keeping track would be and considering I, compared to other zoochat members, stink at identifying wild species, I gave up. (I did decide however to make one just for mammals)
 
Hipporex said:
Is it hard keeping a list for all those animals? I was considering making species life lists but once I realized how hard keeping track would be and considering I, compared to other zoochat members, stink at identifying wild species, I gave up. (I did decide however to make one just for mammals)
Click to expand...

I mean I started seriously zoo-going in 2011 (when I was in 8th grade) and have kept track since my very first visit (Bronx) so I haven't had to worry much about trying to figure out what I've seen in the past. I also always take a notebook to the new collections I visit and record every species I see lifer or not* so I've never struggled to keep track. I originally had a Google site where I made pages for specific zoos and made species pages for all the animals I saw there including photos I took (basically a less well done zooinstitutes but with more species info. and less photos). In 2013 I created a new site that just listed all the species I've seen with a species information page for each that included the zoos I'd seen them at and my best photo if I had one. I think it was in 2017 when @TeaLovingDave convinced me that I should make Excel sheets as back-ups in case Google sites ever shut down. I very quickly abandoned the sites after starting the sheets, however, as I quickly learned that they were much, much more efficient (except for including photos...) and have stuck with them ever since. @jayjds2 tells me I should switch to Google Docs, which I might eventually, but for now I'm pretty happy with what I've got.

Identifying species has always been a struggle, and it's something I've been trying to work on for years now with a long way to go yet. There are probably hundreds of invertebrates I've seen that I've never identified and dozens of fish, even a few birds and herps. It's always annoying for me, but it's not stopped me yet!

To answer simply, no, I don't find it difficult to keep track but I've very rarely had to try and look back in time in order to do so. I think it's fun and useful to keep track. Most people I know tell me I'm crazy for keeping track of fish and inverts but I don't listen to haters like TLD, Jay, and @ShonenJake13 :p ;)

*For returning visits I don't keep as strict a listing except for lifers, especially for zoos I visit often like Bronx.

~Thylo
 
Visited yesterday and I wanted to mention they have a Sand Tilefish Malacanthus plumieri. This individual represents the first wild record for New England!
 
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I visited this small aquarium for the first time yesterday, and it is a very quirky place. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that there are murals literally everywhere: on the façade, on the windows, on the ceiling, on the floor, you name it. Besides the murals, the interior of the building feels like the inside of a dimly-lit grocery store, but instead of having aisles with shelves of food on each side, there are aisles surrounded on both sides by fish tanks. The tanks themselves are pretty much all pet store quality, although different tanks use sand brought in from different beaches throughout the state of Rhode Island, which I found interesting.

They also had a ton of presentations throughout the day, and I went to one in which a Northern Pufferfish was tickled until it inflated full of water. The staff member then picked the pufferfish up in their hands to give us a closer look. After a few seconds the pufferfish deflated and water blew out of its mouth and gills onto the floor, before the fish was returned to its tank. I felt a little mixed about this presentation. It was very cool to see this pufferfish behavior, but I also feel like I’d heard that it was dangerous for a pufferfish to inflate (and also that pufferfish can be hard animals to transfer properly without injuring them). I don’t know much about fish husbandry, so there is a chance I am incorrect and the pufferfish demonstration was fine, but I would appreciate people’s comments if anyone here knows more about best practices for keeping pufferfish in captivity.
 
ZooElephantsMan said:
I visited this small aquarium for the first time yesterday, and it is a very quirky place. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that there are murals literally everywhere: on the façade, on the windows, on the ceiling, on the floor, you name it. Besides the murals, the interior of the building feels like the inside of a dimly-lit grocery store, but instead of having aisles with shelves of food on each side, there are aisles surrounded on both sides by fish tanks. The tanks themselves are pretty much all pet store quality, although different tanks use sand brought in from different beaches throughout the state of Rhode Island, which I found interesting.

They also had a ton of presentations throughout the day, and I went to one in which a Northern Pufferfish was tickled until it inflated full of water. The staff member then picked the pufferfish up in their hands to give us a closer look. After a few seconds the pufferfish deflated and water blew out of its mouth and gills onto the floor, before the fish was returned to its tank. I felt a little mixed about this presentation. It was very cool to see this pufferfish behavior, but I also feel like I’d heard that it was dangerous for a pufferfish to inflate (and also that pufferfish can be hard animals to transfer properly without injuring them). I don’t know much about fish husbandry, so there is a chance I am incorrect and the pufferfish demonstration was fine, but I would appreciate people’s comments if anyone here knows more about best practices for keeping pufferfish in captivity.
Click to expand...

I have a species list I meant to post for here but apparently forgot about. It's not a year out of date :) Also have photos of all the tanks, which is a lot. They didn't have any shows like that on my visit. I'm not sure about the pufferfish, either.
 
helllloooo
i went this week and got a species list, some unidentified things but i hope that’s okay :)

separated by line breaks to indicate new tanks

Flat Claw Hermit Crab
Florida Pompano
Permit
Short Bigeye
Bigeye Soldierfish

Bicolor Damselfish
Purple Sea Urchin

Silver Jenny
Green Crab

Shame Facet Crab
Bicolor Damselfish

Snowy Grouper
Mud Dog Whelk

Ocellaris Clownfish
Bubble Tip Sea Anemone
Peppermint Shrimp
Mandarin Dragonet

Beaugregory (Damselfish)
Banded Butterflyfish

Long-Nose Spider Crab
Spotted Goatfish

Tautog
Squeteague fish

Mud Dog Whelk
Sheepshead Minnow

Northern Pipefish
Feather Blenny
Long Claw Hermit Crab

Sand Shrimp
Lined Seahorse
Purple Sea Urchin

"African Cichlids" - Needs ID

Green Moray Eel

Shore Shrimp
Three-Spine Stickleback
Four-Spine Stickleback

Round Stingray
Striped Mullet
Atlantic Horseshoe Crab

Sergeant-Major Damselfish
Planehead Filefish
Domino Damselfish
Sheepshead
Blue-Striped Grunt

Gulf Toadfish
Black-Fingered Mud Crab

Oyster Toadfish

Scup
Cunner

Black Grouper
Common Spider Crab

Bamboo Shark (Eggs)
Mangrove Snapper

Pinfish
Spottail Pinfish
White-Spotted Bamboo Shark

Atlantic Octopus

Remora
Porcupine Pufferfish
Black Drum

Purple Reeffish (Vagrant Species)
Spotfin Butterflyfish
1x Damselfish

Striped Burrfish

Queen Triggerfish

Chain Catshark
Atlantic Needlefish
Orange Filefish

Black Drum
Spadefish
Black Sea Bass

Spotted Scorpionfish
Mud Dog Whelk
Red Lionfish

Quahog

Green Crab
Snowy Grouper

Striped Blenny
Feather Blenny
Spotfin Butterflyfish

Spotfin Butterflyfish
Feather Blenny
Common Minnow Sheepshead Minnow
Northern Sea Star

American Eel
Spider Crab
Common Periwinkle

Toadfish

Smooth Dogfish
Guitarfish
Bat Ray
Bamboo Shark (White-Spotted)
Bullnose Ray
Black Drum
Spot Croaker
Blue-Spotted Stingray

Fire Belly Toad

Axolotl

Green Poison Dart Frog
Bumblebee Poison Dart Frog
Saint Isabel Poison Dart Frog

Ball Python

Mississippi Map Turtle
Eastern Painted Turtle

Three-Toed Box Turtle

Sulcata Tortoise

Buffalo Trunkfish
Scrawled Cowfish

Gladiator Crab
Carrier Crab
Elbow Crab
Northern Red Anemone

Bandtail Puffer
Planehead Filefish
Sharpnose Puffer

Little Skate
Spot Croaker
Purple Sea Urchin

Atlantic Octopus

Little Skate (Eggs)

Little Skate (Newborns)

Atlantic Lobster

Glasseye Snapper
Short Bigeye
Summer Flounder

Goldfish
Common Minnow
Alligator Snapping Turtle

Mangrove Snapper

Common Minnow
Striped Killifish

Doctorfish
Picasso Triggerfish
Moon Wrasse

Baby Horseshoe Crab Tank (Empty)

Sand Tilefish

Diamondback Terrapin

Black Sea Bass (Empty)

Cocoa Damselfish
Striped Blenny
Blue Angelfish

Spotfin Butterflyfish
Feather Blenny
Redfin Parrotfish
Slippery Dick

Stonefish

Chestnut Moray Eel

American Eel

Northern Pufferfish

Grey Triggerfish

Blue Crab

Baby Chain Catsharks

Florida Pompano
Permit

Hogchoker

Glofish (Danio and Tetra)

Buffalo Trunkfish
European Rock Shrimp

Hairy Sea Cucumber
Star Coral
Short-Spined Brittle Sea Star

Skilletfish

Bicolor Damselfish
Purple Sea Urchin
(Sea Star Species)

Fiddler Crab

Goldfish

Shore Shrimp

Domestic Ferret

Salmon Pink Bird Eating Tarantula

Crested Gecko

Standing's Day Gecko

Stink Pot Turtle

Bearded Dragon

African Clawed Frog

Cuban Tree Frog
White's Tree Frog

Ecuadorian Hermit Crab

Freshwater Angelfish
Black Ghost Knifefish
Ornate Bichir
Pleco (Sp.)

It has all been updated on Zootierliste as well.
 
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