This past weekend, while en route to the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens, I made the last-minute decision to visit an obscure facility that’s been on my mind ever since it first opened last year (more on that below). Now, after yesterday’s visit (19/09); I can confirm that while the following is clearly aimed towards families with younger children, there are a few notable rarities that made my hour-long visit all the worthwhile.
Being a smaller, non-accredited facility. I knew going in that the husbandry standards were not going to be on-par with most institutions. Even still, I was rather surprised with how well-put together most of the enclosures were. Although, I couldn’t help but feel a bit pitiful for the amount of space the larger animals had in such a limited footprint.
As for the aquarium itself, it first opened to the public on February 21st, 2024, on the site of an old department store; with the mammal-heavy Rainforest section having only been open since July 24th! Prior to entry, the cost to enter this portion of the facility costs nearly $30 USD per person; and shouldn’t take more than an hour or two to walk around its entirety.
Disclaimer: The species listed below do not represent the aquarium’s entire collection, for the following excludes ambassador animals, as well as any species that were not easily signed (nor identifiable):
Frog Swamp
Lizard Lair
Snake Den / Gator Alley
Ray Bay (touch pool; up-charge experience)
“Aquariums” (miscellaneous displays)
*includes an albino specimen/s
Shark Reef
Touch Pool (self-explanatory; solely based on signage)
The Rainforest
Mammals > 9
Birds > 5 (1 unseen)
Reptiles > 19 (1 unseen)
Amphibians > 19 (6 unseen)
Fish > 52+ {incomplete for reasons above}
Invertebrates > 25+ {incomplete for reasons above}
Grand Total > 129+
Species signed, but not seen are in grey.
Species that are underlined are kept in more than one display
Being a smaller, non-accredited facility. I knew going in that the husbandry standards were not going to be on-par with most institutions. Even still, I was rather surprised with how well-put together most of the enclosures were. Although, I couldn’t help but feel a bit pitiful for the amount of space the larger animals had in such a limited footprint.
As for the aquarium itself, it first opened to the public on February 21st, 2024, on the site of an old department store; with the mammal-heavy Rainforest section having only been open since July 24th! Prior to entry, the cost to enter this portion of the facility costs nearly $30 USD per person; and shouldn’t take more than an hour or two to walk around its entirety.
Disclaimer: The species listed below do not represent the aquarium’s entire collection, for the following excludes ambassador animals, as well as any species that were not easily signed (nor identifiable):
Frog Swamp
- Axolotl / Ambystoma mexicanum
- Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) + Squirrel Tree Frog (Dryophytes squirellus) + Barking Tree Frog (Dryophytes gratiosus) + Cuban Tree Frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis)
- Luristan Newt / Neurergus kaiseri - labeled as “Kaiser’s Newt”
- Strawberry Dart Frog / Oophaga pumilio - labeled as “Blue Jean Poison Dart Frog”
- African Bullfrog / Pyxicephalus adspersus
- Vietnamese Mossy Frog / Theloderma corticale - labeled as “Mossy Frog” + Theloderma asperum - labeled as “Bird Poop Frog”
- Amazon Milk Frog / Trachycephalus resinifictrix
- Cane Toad / Rhinella marina
- Red-Eyed Tree Frog / Agalychnis callidryas
- Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus) + Dyeing Dart Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius)* + Yellow-Banded Dart Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas; unsigned)
- Phyllobates aurotaenia - labeled as “Kokoe Poison Dart Frog”
- Golden Dart Frog / Phyllobates terribilis - labeled as “Golden Poison Dart Frog”
- Black-Legged Dart Frog / Phyllobates bicolor - labeled as “Black-Legged Poison Dart Frog”
Lizard Lair
- Jungle Carpet Python / Morelia spilota cheynei
- Panther Chameleon / Furcifer pardalis
- Asian Water Monitor / Varanus salvator
- New Caledonian Giant Gecko / Rhacodactylus leachianus
- Northern Caiman Lizard / Dracaena guianensis
- Frilled Dragon / Chlamydosaurus kingii
- Giant Day Gecko (Phelsuma grandis) + Sambava Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti) + Mossy Leaf-Tailed Gecko (Uroplatus sikorae)
- Saharan Uromastyx / Uromastyx geyri
- Prehensile-Tailed Skink / Corucia zebrata
- Mata-Mata / Chelus fimbriata
- Diamondback Terrapin / Malaclemys terrapin ssp.
- Alligator Snapping Turtle / Macrochelys temminckii
Snake Den / Gator Alley
- Smooth-Fronted Caiman / Paleosuchus trigonatus
- Sulawesi Sailfin Dragon / Hydrosaurus celebensis - labeled as “Sulawesi Sailfin Lizard”
- American Alligator / Alligator mississippiensis
- Green Iguana / Iguana iguana
Ray Bay (touch pool; up-charge experience)
Round Stingray (Urobatis halleri) - labeled as “California Round Ray” + Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) - labeled as “Cownose Stingray” + Shovelnose Guitarfish (Pseudobatos productus) + Southern Stingray (Hypanus americanus) + Brown-Banded Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum) + Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) - labeled as “Horseshoe Crab” + Florida Horse Conch (Triplofusus giganteus)
“Aquariums” (miscellaneous displays)
- Amazon Puffer (Colomesus asellus) + South American Leaffish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus) + African Butterflyfish (Pantodon buchholzi)
- Mudskipper (not specified) + Monodactylus argenteus + Banded Archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix) - labeled as “Archerfish / Labrus jaculator”
- Electric Eel (Electrophorus electricus)
Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) + Florida Gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus) + Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula)* + Fly River Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta) - labeled as “River Turtle” + Ripsaw Catfish (Oxydoras niger) + Redtail Catfish (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus) + Wolf Cichlid (Parachromis dovii) + Clown Featherback (Chitala ornata) - labeled as “Clown Knifefish” + Sailfin Pleco (Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps; I think?)* + Bigtooth River Ray (Potamotrygon henlei) - labeled as “Black Diamond Stingray”
- Wolf Eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) - labeled as “Wolf Faced Eel”
- Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)
- Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) - “labeled as Volitan Lionfish”
- Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) + Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) + Bubble-Tip Anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor) - labeled as “Bubble Tip Anemone”
- South American Sea Nettle / Chrysaora plocamia
- Moon Jelly / Aurelia aurita - labeled as “Aurelia labiata”
- Dragon Moray (Enchelycore pardalis) - labeled as “Dragon Moray Eel”
- Spotted Garden Eel (Heteroconger hassi) + Flame Scallop (Ctenoides scaber) + Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus) + Pink-Speckled Shrimpgoby (Cryptocentrus leptocephalus) - labeled as “Pink-Speckled Goby” + Stenopus hispidus - labeled as “Coral Banded Shrimp” + Lysmata debelius - labeled as “Fire Shrimp” + Featherduster Worm (not specified) + Razorfish (not specified) + Sea Cucumber (not specified) + Hermit Crab (not specified)
- Mbu Pufferfish (Tetraodon mbu) + Humphead Cichlid (Cyphotilapia frontosa) + Lyretail Cichlid (Neolamprologus brichardi) + Shell-Dwelling CIchlid (Neolamprologus multifasciatus)
- Symphysodon aequifasciatus - labeled as “Discus (S. aequifasciata)” + Freshwater Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) + Twig Catfish (Farlowella acus) + Corydoras (not specified) + Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi) + Bleeding-Heart Tetra (Megalamphodus erythrostigma)
Shark Reef
Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) + Finetooth Shark (Carcharhinus isodon) + Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) + Bonnethead Shark (Sphyrna tiburo) + Southern Stingray - labeled as “Southern Ray” + Cownose Ray + Achoerodus viridis? - labeled as “Powder Blue Grouper” + Epinephelus lanceolatus - labeled as “Bumblebee Grouper” + Emperor Snapper (Lutjanus sebae??) + Green Moray (Gymnothorax funebris) - labeled as Green Moray Eel + Laced Moray (Gymnothorax favagineus) - labeled as “Tessalata Eel” + French Grunt (Haemulon flavolineatum) + Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber) - labeled as “Spade Fish” + Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus)
Touch Pool (self-explanatory; solely based on signage)
Protoreaster nodosus - labeled as “Chocolate Chip Star” + Protoreaster lincki - labeled as “African Red Knob” + Pentaceraster cumingi - labeled as “Panamic Cushion” + Ophiarachna incrassata - labeled as “Green Brittle Star” + “Caribbean Serpent” (not specified) + Granulated Star (Choriaster granulatus) + “Pencil Urchin” (Heterocentrotus mamillatus??) + Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) + Lysmata wurdemanni - labeled as “Peppermint Shrimp” + Condylactis gigantea - labeled as “Condy Anemone” + Thinstripe Hermit Crab (Clibanarius vittatus) + Blue-Legged Hermit Crab (Clibanarius tricolor)
The Rainforest
- Linnaeus’ Two-Toed Sloth / Choloepus didactylus
- Asian Leopard Cat / Prionailurus bengalensis - labeled at species-level; possibly bengalensis?
- Night Monkey / Aotus sp. - labeled as “Owl Monkey / Aotus lemurinus”
- Kinkajou / Potos flavus ssp.
- Ring-Tailed Lemur / Lemur catta
- Cotton-Top Tamarin / Saguinus oedipus
- Bearded Emperor Tamarin / S. i. subgrisecens - labeled at species-level
Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) - labeled as “Green-Naped Lorikeet” + Rainbow Lorikeet (T. moluccanus) + Scaly-Breasted Lory (T. chlorolepidotus) + Blue-Streaked Lory (Eos reticulata; unsigned)*
- Tayra / Eira barbara ssp.
- Keel-Billed Toucan / Ramphastos sulfuratus - labeled as “Rainbow-Billed Toucan”
- Asian Small-Clawed Otter / Aonyx cinereus - labeled as “Small-Clawed Otter”
Mammals > 9
Birds > 5 (1 unseen)
Reptiles > 19 (1 unseen)
Amphibians > 19 (6 unseen)
Fish > 52+ {incomplete for reasons above}
Invertebrates > 25+ {incomplete for reasons above}
Grand Total > 129+
Species signed, but not seen are in grey.
Species that are underlined are kept in more than one display
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