Elasmobranch Collection of the Pacific Northwest

Northwest_FIsh_Keeping

Northwest_FIsh_Keeping

Well-Known Member
For the longest time, the Pacific Northwest region was starved of a decent Elasmobranch collection, with Point Defiance Zoo being the main carry of the facilities with their 2 aquarium buildings. However, within the past year thanks to our Ocean Pavilion expansion at the Seattle Aquarium, the recent renovations at the Point Defiance Zoo, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium's recent renovations, the Elasmobranch collection in the PNW has just about tripled in size and species diversity.
This list will mainly cover the Four Major Aquariums between Washington, Oregon, and Vancouver B.C. (personally I don't consider Idaho or Northern California as a part of the PNW). To my knowledge the smaller, community run aquariums in the region don't house any Elasmobranchs either. Woodland Park Zoo and Oregon Zoo also do not house any Elasmobranchs.
  • The Seattle Aquarium (Seattle, Washington)
  • The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (Tacoma, Washington)
  • The Oregon Coast Aquarium (Newport, Oregon)
  • The Vancouver Aquarium (Vancouver B.C. , Canada)
All 4 of these facilities are within a reasonable driving distance of each other, which is another reason I wanted to make this specific list since you could hit all of them within a couple days if you wanted to (Vancouver B.C. to Seattle is around a 2 hour drive / Seattle to Tacoma is around a 40 minute drive / Tacoma to Newport is around a 5 hour drive).
All 4 of these facilities are also home to some very rare Elasmobranchs that are only kept in a few aquariums across North America, so this list is also for the aquarium enthusiasts.
Since I'm somewhat affiliated with the Seattle Aquarium (use to be a Highschool Volunteer plus still have some sources who I trust that are a part of the staff), and am familiar with the other three facilities, I wanted to make this list just to keep track. Especially because there are more Elasmobranchs coming into Washington (Point Defiance Zoo has said they're bringing in more Sharks, and us at Seattle definitely are bringing in more Elasmobranchs within the near future), this list will continue to grow.
I will do my best to try and put the number of the species that is kept at each facility if I know that information.

Sharks | Starting off with the most popular of the Elasmos, this is the category that has seen the biggest increase in species diversity recently. PDZA has mentioned they're bringing in more sharks sometime soon, and with the ReShark program, expect more sharks to be coming to Seattle as well in the future.

Broadnose Sevengill Sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus)
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium (Only 1 of 3 Aquariums in North America to exhibit the species, the other 2 are Monterey Bay Aquarium and Aquarium of the Bay)
Tope / School Sharks (Galeorhinus galeus)
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium (2 individuals) (Only 1 of 2 Aquariums in North America to exhibit the species, the other is the Aquarium of the Bay)
Leopard Sharks (Triakis semifasciata)
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium
Pacific Spiny Dogfish (Squalus suckleyi)
  • Vancouver Aquarium
  • Seattle Aquarium (3 individuals)
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium
  • (The most commonly displayed Elasmo here since they're the most widespread)
Blacktip Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
  • Vancouver Aquarium (5 individuals)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (5 individuals)
  • Seattle Aquarium (2 individuals, about to go on exhibit)
Whitetip Reef Sharks (Triaenodon obesus)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (2 individuals)
Grey Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (3 individuals)
Zebra Sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum)
  • Seattle Aquarium (2 individuals, however only 1 is currently on exhibit, the other is BTS)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (3 individuals)
Tawny Nurse Sharks (Nebrius ferrugineus)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (4 individuals)
Tasseled Wobbegong Shark (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (1 individual)
Epaulette Sharks (Hemiscyllium ocellatum)
  • Vancouver Aquarium
  • Seattle Aquarium (1 individual)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (2 individuals)
White Spotted Bamboo Sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum)
  • Vancouver Aquarium
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (2 individuals)
(If you're wondering why I didn't list the Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks, unfortunately Point Defiance's trio passed away around a month ago so those are no longer in their collection)

Rays and Guitarfishes | Another diverse collection, this is another group that saw a big increase in species diversity that past year. I'm not sure about Point Defiance, but definitely expect a couple more Rays to be coming to Seattle in the future (I'll highlight one at the end)

Bowmouth Guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma)
  • Seattle Aquarium (1 individual) (1 of 8 facilities in North America to exhibit the species)
Ocellated Eagle Rays (Aetobatus ocellatus)
  • Seattle Aquarium (3 individuals)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (4 individuals)
Black Blotched Fantail Ray (Taeniurops meyeni)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (1 individual)
Blue Spotted Ribbontail Rays (Taeniura lymma)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (3 individuals)
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium (1 individual if I counted correctly)
Blue Spotted Mask Rays (Neotrygon kuhlii)
  • Seattle Aquarium (2 individuals)
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium (1 individual if I counted correctly)
Leopard Whipray (Himantura leoparda)
  • Seattle Aquarium (1 individual, can confirm it's a true H. leoparda) (To my knowledge we're 1 of 2 Aquariums in North America to exhibit the species, the other being Georgia Aquarium)
Honeycomb Whipray (Himantura urunak)
  • Vancouver Aquarium (1 individual, however it may be a different species since the genus is hard to tell apart, but this is what it was signed as)
Australian Whipray (Himantura australis)
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (1 individual, however it may be a different species since the genus is hard to tell apart, but this is what it was signed as)
Bat Rays (Myliobatis californica)
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium
Javanese Cownose Rays (Rhinoptera javanica)
  • Seattle Aquarium (can confirm they're coming from Asia, either Ocean Park or Okinawa Churaumi, hopefully sometime this year)
Skates | Unfortunately this group has seen a big fall off in terms of species kept in Aquarium's here, most likely since most of the species are listed as Vulnerable or Endangered and are hard to source. The Longnose Skate and Starry Skate used to be kept at Oregon Coast, but are no longer in collection. Currently the only Skate you'll find in any of the facilities is the Big Skate. Hopefully in the future, more Skate species are able to be kept.

Big Skates (Beringraja binoculata)
  • Vancouver Aquarium
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium
  • (In the past we used to have eggs on exhibit at Seattle, however that hasn't happened for a couple years)
Chimaeras | Now Chimaeras aren't Elasmobranchs, but another order of Cartilaginous Fish. I thought I'd just add them here too since I couldn't figure out another place to put them.

Spotted Chimaera / Ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei)
  • Vancouver Aquarium
  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
  • (On very rare occasions, will make an appearance at the Seattle Aquarium. Usually if they're bycatch from Fisherman)
And that wraps up the list of Elasmobranchs that are kept in the PNW region. Still crazy to see that Point Defiance Zoo has the most diversity even after all the expansions and additions. This list is guaranteed to grow this year as mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, a majority of the local Elasmobranch species are either too big, pelagic and can't be kept in aquariums or don't have a good track record in captivity or can't be collected for various reasons which is why a majority are Tropical species. (apologies if this type of thread is repetitive, it's something I wanted to do for fun after visiting the 3 other facilities just recently)
 
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
@Local_Shark I ended up following through with the list, it's very region specific but should be an easy way to track the species that are within the area
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Really really nice work man! This is a super detailed list and I certainly find it useful. I’ve no doubt others will too. One small thing, I do believe we determined that the nurse sharks at PDZA were classic Atlantic nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum), no?
 
Local_Shark said:
Really really nice work man! This is a super detailed list and I certainly find it useful. I’ve no doubt others will too. One small thing, I do believe we determined that the nurse sharks at PDZA were classic Atlantic nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum), no?
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You're right, I completely forgot to edit that one (I was just going through each list and copy + paste each name LOL), that one will have to be changed when I add more species to the list
 
You’re all good! And here’s to more species getting added - namely, some super cool new ones at Seattle one hopes! :D
 
While I do not believe they are displayed there any longer, Hatfield Marine Science Center, also in Newport Oregon, has kept Hydrolagus colliei in the past.

Likewise, unsure if they're still around, but Oregon Coast Aquarium has displayed Brown Smoothhound (Mustelus henlei) and Filetail Catsharks (Parmaturus xaniurus) in the past. It never made it to display but at least one Pacific Sleeper Shark (Somniosus pacificus) was attempted.
 
CMTM said:
Likewise, unsure if they're still around, but Oregon Coast Aquarium has displayed Brown Smoothhound (Mustelus henlei) and Filetail Catsharks (Parmaturus xaniurus) in the past. It never made it to display but at least one Pacific Sleeper Shark (Somniosus pacificus) was attempted.
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I believe that Northwest said in his separate species list for OCA that they no longer have either species there, though I wish they still did. Do you happen to have any further info about the Pacific sleeper shark attempt though? That’s fascinating, I had no idea.
 
Local_Shark said:
I believe that Northwest said in his separate species list for OCA that they no longer have either species there, though I wish they still did. Do you happen to have any further info about the Pacific sleeper shark attempt though? That’s fascinating, I had no idea.
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Oh, whoops! That's totally my bad. I recall the smoothhound being so cryptic that there was a running joke among locals that it did not actually exist. Shame they aren't around anymore.

I do not wish to speak out of turn so I will stick to the least fuzzy of my memories. I saw a photo of a colleague in the water with it (possibly "walking" it) in one of OCA's back holding pools. I'd say it was in the eight foot ish range. It did not last long and I believe was caught unintentionally, but those details are where things start to get fuzzy.

Alaska Sealife Center has also kept the species (off-display) several times in temporary research situations.
 
CMTM said:
I do not wish to speak out of turn so I will stick to the least fuzzy of my memories. I saw a photo of a colleague in the water with it (possibly "walking" it) in one of OCA's back holding pools. I'd say it was in the eight foot ish range. It did not last long and I believe was caught unintentionally, but those details are where things start to get fuzzy.

Alaska Sealife Center has also kept the species (off-display) several times in temporary research situations.
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Totally understand! And yeah, I am actually very familiar with the Sealife Center's work on it, because I knew the grad student who was the lead on the project (long story short I used to intern with her lab many moons ago). It's truly fascinating stuff! Their two weeks or so of holding one is as far as I know the world record. I'd love to see someone make a dedicated exhibit for the species or similar ones in the future...one can dream.
 
CMTM said:
While I do not believe they are displayed there any longer, Hatfield Marine Science Center, also in Newport Oregon, has kept Hydrolagus colliei in the past.

Likewise, unsure if they're still around, but Oregon Coast Aquarium has displayed Brown Smoothhound (Mustelus henlei) and Filetail Catsharks (Parmaturus xaniurus) in the past. It never made it to display but at least one Pacific Sleeper Shark (Somniosus pacificus) was attempted.
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Oh wow, that's the first time I've heard of OSU having a public small aquarium, I'll have to visit next time im down there.

Also can confirm unfortunately the Aquarium doesnt' house the Catsharks or Smoothhounds anymore, hopefully Monterey Bay can come through again with those Filetail Catsharks fingers crossed
 
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
Oh wow, that's the first time I've heard of OSU having a public small aquarium, I'll have to visit next time im down there.

Also can confirm unfortunately the Aquarium doesnt' house the Catsharks or Smoothhounds anymore, hopefully Monterey Bay can come through again with those Filetail Catsharks fingers crossed
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I am probably biased but I adore the Visitor Center at Hatfield, great little spot.
 
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