ocellated_eelpout
Well-Known Member
A While ago, I noticed that on the floor plans for the exhibit, There is a species of coffinfish. I don't quite know what species it is, but my guess is that it's probably Chaunax abei
Monterey Bay Aquarium Major deep sea animal exhibit coming to MBA
- Thread starter DavidBrown
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Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
Couple of Months of slow news huh 
Hopefully we'll get some more news soon since we're getting closer to April 2022 which is (hopefully) when the exhibit is set to open. But that "Behind The Scene of Jellies" has 2 more surprises Right after the Bloody Belly Comb Jelly bit! MacKenzie showed off a couple "Mooderia Rotunda" they have next to the Bloody Bellies as well, as well as a Species of Deep Sea Siphonophore (I can't make out the name from the video) that they actually cultured in the lab, and towards the end of that bit you can see how one of them reacts to light and retracts + swims! Since they did show they off, especially the Siphonophores since they we're able to culture them, that those will also be on display in the exhibit! Very exciting things, I really hope we get more news soon
(32.49 if you want to see the Mooderia + Siphonophore)
Hopefully we'll get some more news soon since we're getting closer to April 2022 which is (hopefully) when the exhibit is set to open. But that "Behind The Scene of Jellies" has 2 more surprises Right after the Bloody Belly Comb Jelly bit! MacKenzie showed off a couple "Mooderia Rotunda" they have next to the Bloody Bellies as well, as well as a Species of Deep Sea Siphonophore (I can't make out the name from the video) that they actually cultured in the lab, and towards the end of that bit you can see how one of them reacts to light and retracts + swims! Since they did show they off, especially the Siphonophores since they we're able to culture them, that those will also be on display in the exhibit! Very exciting things, I really hope we get more news soon (32.49 if you want to see the Mooderia + Siphonophore)
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
^ I made some grammar errors so it doesn't make sense reading back lol, what i meant to say was:
Since they showed off the Mooderia and Siphonophores, there's a high chance that they'll hopefully be on exhibit too. Especially since MBA have found out how to culture that species of Siphonophore. : She also showed off another species of Comb Jelly they were keeping with the Bloody Belly so that was cool. She did mention they have more Deep Sea Jellies I believe, so im interested if they have more species in the lab than the ones they showed off on stream. I need to catch more of their streams / watch the Twitch and YouTube VODs since they do talk about a lot of info on there. Hopefully we'll get another Behind the Scenes stream soon of another part of the Aquarium so we can maybe get more sneak peaks lol
Since they showed off the Mooderia and Siphonophores, there's a high chance that they'll hopefully be on exhibit too. Especially since MBA have found out how to culture that species of Siphonophore. : She also showed off another species of Comb Jelly they were keeping with the Bloody Belly so that was cool. She did mention they have more Deep Sea Jellies I believe, so im interested if they have more species in the lab than the ones they showed off on stream. I need to catch more of their streams / watch the Twitch and YouTube VODs since they do talk about a lot of info on there. Hopefully we'll get another Behind the Scenes stream soon of another part of the Aquarium so we can maybe get more sneak peaks lol
ocellated_eelpout
Well-Known Member
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
Yup, some of them are also on the Into the Deep page on the MBA Website. While they haven't outright confirmed any of the animals pictured, I would really love to see Sea Angels since the only place I've seen any video of them on display is the Osaka Aquarium and I don't think an Aquarium in the US has displayed them before.
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
Also since the image quality when zoomed in is super poor, here's what I've been able to gather from the image:
After you enter, you go down a hall way with different Pannels that seem to either Simulate descending into the Deep Sea, or just what animals are seen there.
-The First Area is called "Dives in the Deep' where they have a Replica of a ROV Submersible. I can't make out what the big room is, so that'll be exciting to see once the exhibit opens.
-After that, you go into a smaller room which from the Artist Mockups, look like more LED Pannels and such.
-After that, we have the "Midwaters' Section which seemingly will house most of the Jellyfish & Relatives, from the paper attached to that mockup of the room, we can see:
-Bloody Belly Comb Jelly (CONFIRMED to be on Display)
-Mooderia Rotunda (CONFIRMED in the sense they showed off on Stream they have a couple in the Jelly Lab)
-Giant Larvacean (Basically CONFIRMED at this point)
-Giant Siphonophore (Which im not sure on at this point, considering they have another species they've already started to Aquaculture, so who knows. Would be pretty cool though)
-And 2 other species of Jelly I can't make out the names of. If we go by the Mockup though, Midwater Jellyfish (Colobonema) is a possibility.
After that, there's 2 other rooms on the way to the next Gallery which I have no idea what they're for.
The next Gallery is called "Muddy Plaines"
This room has a lot of the smaller tanks, since it seems like a lot of the Less Active Animals will be housed here. There's also a couple benches in here.
Animals that are possibly going to be displayed going by the paper attached :
-Predatory Tunicates
-Mushroom Soft Coral or Urchin species? I can't really tell, all I can make out is that it's Light Pink with a lot of Tentacles (?) And in the shape of a Ball.
-Deep Sea Cucumber of some sort
-2 Species of Fish I can't make out the name of
-A Species of Octopus I remember seeing some where, but I can't remember / make out the name of.
After there, you go down a curved hall way with 3 more tanks, the biggest one being called the "Seamounts" Going by the Paper Attached:
-Deep Sea Scorpion / Rockfish
-Various Species of Sea Pens
-A Species of Lump Fish
-Deep Sea Star Fish
-Some sort of Coral (Possibly Bubblegum Coral since they've been talking about those a lot recently)
After that, The Biggest Tank it seems like in the entire exhibit is called "Whale Falls" seemingly replicating a Natural Whale Fall. The Paper Suggests:
-Japanese Spider Crabs (CONFIRMED)
-Possibly Filetail Cat Sharks
-More Rock Fish / Scorpion Fish
-And then a Couple other inverts that I can't make it out. But one looks possible like the Sea Pig or a Sea Spider of some sort
Also, Bone Eating Worms have been confirmed to be on Display. This tank seems like the obvious place where they'll be, but who knows.
On the way out, there's a circular tank for some floating things (Possibly the Sea Angels) and another tank next to it for Giant Isopods (CONFIRMED).
Possibly 1 more small tank on the way out after as well. And that's the exhibit! Of course there's going to be probably more animals than what have been listed in the picture, but in my mind these are pictured since they're either already in the back ready to be put on display, or there's a high chance they will be on Display.
After you enter, you go down a hall way with different Pannels that seem to either Simulate descending into the Deep Sea, or just what animals are seen there.
-The First Area is called "Dives in the Deep' where they have a Replica of a ROV Submersible. I can't make out what the big room is, so that'll be exciting to see once the exhibit opens.
-After that, you go into a smaller room which from the Artist Mockups, look like more LED Pannels and such.
-After that, we have the "Midwaters' Section which seemingly will house most of the Jellyfish & Relatives, from the paper attached to that mockup of the room, we can see:
-Bloody Belly Comb Jelly (CONFIRMED to be on Display)
-Mooderia Rotunda (CONFIRMED in the sense they showed off on Stream they have a couple in the Jelly Lab)
-Giant Larvacean (Basically CONFIRMED at this point)
-Giant Siphonophore (Which im not sure on at this point, considering they have another species they've already started to Aquaculture, so who knows. Would be pretty cool though)
-And 2 other species of Jelly I can't make out the names of. If we go by the Mockup though, Midwater Jellyfish (Colobonema) is a possibility.
After that, there's 2 other rooms on the way to the next Gallery which I have no idea what they're for.
The next Gallery is called "Muddy Plaines"
This room has a lot of the smaller tanks, since it seems like a lot of the Less Active Animals will be housed here. There's also a couple benches in here.
Animals that are possibly going to be displayed going by the paper attached :
-Predatory Tunicates
-Mushroom Soft Coral or Urchin species? I can't really tell, all I can make out is that it's Light Pink with a lot of Tentacles (?) And in the shape of a Ball.
-Deep Sea Cucumber of some sort
-2 Species of Fish I can't make out the name of
-A Species of Octopus I remember seeing some where, but I can't remember / make out the name of.
After there, you go down a curved hall way with 3 more tanks, the biggest one being called the "Seamounts" Going by the Paper Attached:
-Deep Sea Scorpion / Rockfish
-Various Species of Sea Pens
-A Species of Lump Fish
-Deep Sea Star Fish
-Some sort of Coral (Possibly Bubblegum Coral since they've been talking about those a lot recently)
After that, The Biggest Tank it seems like in the entire exhibit is called "Whale Falls" seemingly replicating a Natural Whale Fall. The Paper Suggests:
-Japanese Spider Crabs (CONFIRMED)
-Possibly Filetail Cat Sharks
-More Rock Fish / Scorpion Fish
-And then a Couple other inverts that I can't make it out. But one looks possible like the Sea Pig or a Sea Spider of some sort
Also, Bone Eating Worms have been confirmed to be on Display. This tank seems like the obvious place where they'll be, but who knows.
On the way out, there's a circular tank for some floating things (Possibly the Sea Angels) and another tank next to it for Giant Isopods (CONFIRMED).
Possibly 1 more small tank on the way out after as well. And that's the exhibit! Of course there's going to be probably more animals than what have been listed in the picture, but in my mind these are pictured since they're either already in the back ready to be put on display, or there's a high chance they will be on Display.
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Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
Another thing that's in the photo I thought was very interesting is the possibility of a Volcanic Tube Worn Display. It is just an artist mockup, but I feel like they wouldn't have this drawn up if they weren't thinking about it. And from Imaginarius' list on the 1st page of this thread, the staff were talking about it being a possibility. If they do find a way to display these, that is ground breaking. 
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I have my doubts, considering it would likely necessitate an artificial vent. I'd assume it's a model or display at first glance.
ocellated_eelpout
Well-Known Member
Lamellibrachia satsuma tube worms have been successfully kept in enoshima aquarium, so MBA could probably handle giant tube worms.
Here is the possible species list so far:
Pom-Pom Anemone (Liponema brevicornis)
Bone-Eating Worm (Osedax sp.)
Filetail Catshark (Parmaturus xaniurus)
Giant Siphonophore (Praya sp.)
Bloody-Belly Comb Jelly (Lampocteis cruentiventer)
Hydromedusa (Mooderia rotunda)
Midwater Jelly (Colobonema sericeum)
Shortspine Thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus)
Longspine Thornyhead (Sebastolobus altivelis)
Mushroom Soft Coral (Anthomastus ritteri)
Apple Anemone (Stomphia didemon)
Spiny King Crab (Paralithodes rathbuni)
Sponges (Porifera sp.)
Japanese Spider Crab (Macrocheira kaempferi)
Carrier Crab (Paromola cuvieri)
Red Vermillion Crab (Paralomis verrillis)
Vermillion Sea Star (Mediaster aequalis)
Squat Lobster (Munida sp.)
Sea Pig (Scotoplanes sp.)
Deep-Sea Brittle Star (Amphiodia urtica)
Predatory Tunicate (Megalodicopia hians)
Salmon Snailfish (Careproctus rastrinus)
Red Sea Fan (Swiftia kofoidi)
Feather Star (Florometra serratissima)
Midwater Eelpout (Melanostigma pammelas)
Fragile Pink Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus fragilis)
Sea Angel (Clione limacina)
Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)
Bioluminescent Octopus (Stauroteuthis syrtensis)
Johnson's Sea Cucumber (Parastichopus johnsoni)
Hula Skirt Siphonophore (Physophora hydrostatica)
Giant Isopod (Bathynomus giganteus)
Pacific Hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii)
Spotted Ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei)
Giant Larvacean (Bathochordaeus sp.)
Glass Sea Cucumber (Pannychia moseleyi)
Sea Cucumber (Psolus sp.)
Midwater Shrimp (Sergestes similis)
Red Mysid Shrimp (Gnathophausia ingens)
Black Prince Copepod (Gaussia princeps)
Flapjack Octopus (Opisthoteuthis adorabilis)
Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis Infernalis)
Pacific Pompano (Peprilus simillimus)
Deepsea Sole (Embassichthys bathybius)
Big Skate (Raja binoculata)
Droopy Sea Pen (Umbellula lindahli)
Longnose Skate (Raja rhina)
Giant Tube Worm (Riftia pachyptila)
Bubblegum Coral (Paragorgia aborea)
Sea Toad (Chaunax abei)
Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria)
Deepwater Bigeye Shrimp (Pandalopsis amplus)
Velcro Sea Star (Novodinia antillensis)
Cookie Star (Ceramaster patagonicus)
Cushion Star (Ceramaster granularis)
California Sun Star (Rathbunaster californicus)
Leather Star (Dermasterias Imbricata)
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
Also something I completely forgot about, I messaged MBA all the way back in March about the sign and gave my theories on it and this is what they said. But basically, if we get leaks containing signs like the Vampire Squid one pictured, its best not to bet that the animal will be 100% on display since they did say that those signs in general would be used for other things like Videos, Models (like the ROV model), etc. But we can hope! 
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Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
A New Potential Animal that could be on display: Xenophyophores! Sea Floor Dwelling Animals that are actually just Giant, Single Cell Organisms. MBARI posted this on their Instagram today. Its not confirmed of course, but what makes me think that it could be on display is the fact that it looks like the photo was taken in a lab, and they have 2 pictures of it in a Test Tube sort of thing. Also it looks to be pretty small, but in the pictures on google they look like they can get decently big, so maybe it'll have time to grow at the Aquarium? They're also are homes for Small Deep Sea animals, so maybe they'll be useful for something like the Whale Falls tank where presumably a lot of the Scavengers will be, or some of the smaller tanks as either its own display, or a mixed display with smaller animals similar to its own size.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTP7m6yJaWx/?utm_medium=copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTP7m6yJaWx/?utm_medium=copy_link
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Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
Pictures for those that are unable to open the link: It also looks like they might have 2(?) looking at the images again because one looks a tad bigger / a different shape than the other? Or it could just be my overexcitment lol. 
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ocellated_eelpout
Well-Known Member
I think It is very likely that they go on exhibit.
splendens
Well-Known Member
It seems the vampire squid signage is used for every visual in the portfolio. Travis Wood Exhibition Design - Portfolio
Fanfin anglerfish
Well-Known Member
I wonder if Pink fantasia and Glass octopus have ever been in captivity.
I don't believe either of those have been kept.
ocellated_eelpout
Well-Known Member
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
So I was doing some more research since Spring 2022 is super close, and found this article from the Monterey Herald that was published all the way back in October 2020. I imagine the information in it still holds to some degree, but they interviewed the VP of Exhibitions, Beth Redmond-Jones, and it seems like a few things got confirmed in this article:
-There will be 21 Tanks in the exhibit
-They'll have a bunch of hands on and education stuff in there as well
-Giant Larvaceans are confirmed (They've been pretty much confirmed for a long time now, but hearing the VP say it is exciting)
and most importantly, it sounds like the Exhibit is set to open between March and April 2022. Beth said March, but the website says April, so I'm guessing somewhere in between? Either way we're only a couple months away! Hopefully more updates come out soon, I'm starving for new info
Monterey Aquarium planning ambitious new exhibit – Monterey Herald
-There will be 21 Tanks in the exhibit
-They'll have a bunch of hands on and education stuff in there as well
-Giant Larvaceans are confirmed (They've been pretty much confirmed for a long time now, but hearing the VP say it is exciting)
and most importantly, it sounds like the Exhibit is set to open between March and April 2022. Beth said March, but the website says April, so I'm guessing somewhere in between? Either way we're only a couple months away! Hopefully more updates come out soon, I'm starving for new info
Monterey Aquarium planning ambitious new exhibit – Monterey Herald
Oh wow, I didn't realise just how close it is to opening! Just a few more months! The part that mentions that some species that will be displayed have not been described yet is definitely exciting, I'm assuming anything new will be described while it's on display so we may get some new species from the exhibit! Can't wait to see what they'll have on display!