Monterey Bay Aquarium Major deep sea animal exhibit coming to MBA

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Thanks to the Aquarium's Instagram story, Rhyzophisa sp. (Hawaiian Siphonophore species) is back on display, and Nanomia are off display. These look insanely cool so if you have a chance, definitely go and check them out.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

According to the site, Sea Angels have been rotated out, and the Mauve Stinger (Pelagia flaveola) & Phyllosoma Duo is back on display.

The Sea Angels have been mentioned to be a Spring Seasonal Species since that's when they show up in Monterey Bay, so if you're really wanting to see them, I'd try and go between April and May.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

More news finally! As of yesterday, thanks to u/splendens , here are the current updates;
• The "Red Rope Coral" in the Monterey Canyon Tank is species; Callistephanus simplex according to the signage.
• The Monterey Canyon Tank has a variety of other species that weren't mentioned of before. Including Deep-Sea Sea Stars, Squat Lobsters, smaller crabs, Brachiopods, Thornyheads, and the coolest in my opinion, a species of Deep-Sea Flat Fish! (Species unknown at this time)
•The Crab Tank of Spiny King Crabs, Japanese Porcupine Crab, and Puget Sound Box Crab have all been moved off, and that Tank now houses the Pacific Bigeye Octopus. The tank that used to house the Pacific Bigeye Octopus now houses the Pacific Hagfish.
This means that for the Benthic species, besides the Lumpfish and Whalefall Tank inhabitants, every species on display is local to Monterey waters.
•Fire / Brisingid Stars have replaced the Feather Stars that were on display.
•While Mauve Stingers are still on display, the Phyllosoma aren't, so I'm guessing the old group grew too big / old.
•Amber Lobates are on display with the Bloody Bellies. The Amber Lobates are another undescribed species of Lampocteis, and I remember last year they were working on increasing their survivability rate in captivity. If those are the same from the ones I've seen posted before (unfortunately I can't tell), then these have been on display for a few months which is great!
(Photo Creds: u/splendens)
Deep-Sea Flat Fish species

Monterey Canyon / Red Rope Coral signage

 

[DaLilFishie]

a species of Deep-Sea Flat Fish! (Species unknown at this time)

(Photo Creds: u/splendens)
Deep-Sea Flat Fish species
View attachment 641297

Perhaps this is Embassichthys bathybius? The patterning, small head and proportionally very large eyes do certainly resemble that species, and it is present in Monterey Submarine Canyon.

 

[splendens]

Perhaps this is Embassichthys bathybius? The patterning, small head and proportionally very large eyes do certainly resemble that species, and it is present in Monterey Submarine Canyon.

Yes I believe, it was present in the old exhibit as well.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

It was posted in the general MBA news thread but the Aquarium won an Innovation Award by the AZA for Into the Deep!
https://www.aza.org/honors-awards?locale=en

Unfortunately there haven't been many updates. Instagram got rid of their "sort by new" feature for when looking up hashtags, so you're not able to see most new posts, it's only "Top recent" which sucks. From what I have seen and what the socials have posted, all the Benthic species are still on display and Bloody Bellies, Mauve Stingers, Abyssal Comb Jellies, Bolinopsis Comb Jellies, and "Red X" are still on display. I haven't seen anything about the Snow Globe Jellies, Purple Lipped Jellies, or Nanomia Siphonophores though I think it's safe to assume the latter 2 are still there. A little unfortunate we don't get many updates regarding the species rotation but that's with any Aquarium.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

New Species Alert: The Dinner Plate Jelly!
Tommy from the Jelly Team just posted this amazing species, Solmissus incisa , the "Dinner Plate Jelly" that just went on display. It's the first one MBA has displayed and likely another first in the world. He mentioned this one was collected at about 800 meters depth and the first one they've had success with that they felt comfortable enough to put it on display. He says they're on the hunt for more on future collection trips so it looks like we may see this species in the future again. This one is so cool, I need to go back.

This also means it looks like the Lobed Comb Jellies (Bolinopsis) are off display for the first time ever. But this one is definitely cooler. I'd love to see what the signage looks like since it doesn't have a profile on the site

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

New Species Alert: The Dinner Plate Jelly!
Tommy from the Jelly Team just posted this amazing species, Solmissus incisa , the "Dinner Plate Jelly" that just went on display. It's the first one MBA has displayed and likely another first in the world. He mentioned this one was collected at about 800 meters depth and the first one they've had success with that they felt comfortable enough to put it on display. He says they're on the hunt for more on future collection trips so it looks like we may see this species in the future again. This one is so cool, I need to go back.

This also means it looks like the Lobed Comb Jellies (Bolinopsis) are off display for the first time ever. But this one is definitely cooler. I'd love to see what the signage looks like since it doesn't have a profile on the site

Confirmed by the Aquarium (to their knowledge) that this is in fact the first time anywhere in the world this species has been displayed. They don't seem like a super active species which is great for photos. They are a Medusavore so I'm not sure how likely multiple get along in the same tank, but that could be cool for the future

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

New species alert! Courtesy of @splendens
There's actually a few more New species that are now on display. Splendens has the pictures but they've reported that:
•Pom Pom Anemones have moved and replaced the Big Eye Octopus babies
•The Giant Pink Isopods (Bathynomus doederleinii) are now on display in the old Pom Pom Anemone tank. This is the first time this species is on display at MBA.
•The Nanomia Siphonophores are now off display, and while the sign says "new arrival", the new species I'm almost certain is the Rabbit Ear Comb Jelly (Kiyohimea usagi) is now on display. This would be the first time for MBA and possibly the first time in the world(?).
The sign mentions they're from Hawaii, though I believe that's for when the Rhyzophisa were on display previously. I believe K. usagi only occurs in the Monterey Canyon.
•A new culture of Bone Worms (Osedax spp.) Is now on display once again.
•I don't know if it was mentioned earlier, but just in case, the Feather Stars are off display and the Fire Stars (Brisingid) are back on display.

This makes the current Midwater lineup: •Snow Globe Jellies / Bloody Belly Comb Jellies / Mauve Stingers / Purple Lipped Jellies / 'Red X' Comb Jellies / Rabbit Ear Comb Jellies / Abyssal Comb Jellies / & the Dinner Plate Jelly.

Photo from Splendens. The two "rabbit ears" on the top of the Comb Jelly are a dead giveaway IMO

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

New species alert! Courtesy of @splendens
There's actually a few more New species that are now on display. Splendens has the pictures but they've reported that:
•Pom Pom Anemones have moved and replaced the Big Eye Octopus babies
•The Giant Pink Isopods (Bathynomus doederleinii) are now on display in the old Pom Pom Anemone tank. This is the first time this species is on display at MBA.
•The Nanomia Siphonophores are now off display, and while the sign says "new arrival", the new species I'm almost certain is the Rabbit Ear Comb Jelly (Kiyohimea usagi) is now on display. This would be the first time for MBA and possibly the first time in the world(?).
The sign mentions they're from Hawaii, though I believe that's for when the Rhyzophisa were on display previously. I believe K. usagi only occurs in the Monterey Canyon.
•A new culture of Bone Worms (Osedax spp.) Is now on display once again.
•I don't know if it was mentioned earlier, but just in case, the Feather Stars are off display and the Fire Stars (Brisingid) are back on display.

This makes the current Midwater lineup: •Snow Globe Jellies / Bloody Belly Comb Jellies / Mauve Stingers / Purple Lipped Jellies / 'Red X' Comb Jellies / Rabbit Ear Comb Jellies / Abyssal Comb Jellies / & the Dinner Plate Jelly.

Photo from Splendens. The two "rabbit ears" on the top of the Comb Jelly are a dead giveaway IMO
View attachment 664305

Correction: George Matsumoto chimed in and corrected the ID of the Comb Jelly I thought was the Rabbit Ear. It's actually Eurhamphaea vexilligera, the "Red Spot Comb Jelly". The main difference is the Kiyohimea lack the little tentacle things that come off the back. The sign is right as he said they collected these off of Kona. A cool fact he mentioned is they have some lovely biolum that comes from the Red spots.

Another cool fact is that he mentioned the Dinner Plate Jellies' favorite meal is the Bloody Belly Comb Jelly which might make culturing that one a bit harder but cool fact nonetheless

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Matt Wandell recently went on the Reef Beef Podcast with Rich (prev at the Steinhart Aquarium) and Ben and talked quite a lot about some of the BTS stuff of Into the Deep. They're time stamped on the podcast but some cool facts he mentioned:
-A lot of the tanks are kept at around 42F, the coldest are 38F which is mainly the Coral Tanks.
-The Snakehead Eelpouts are a low oxygen species, so the "muddy bottom community" tank is also low oxygen.
-Something they found out about the Brisingid Stars is they can not be exposed to sunlight otherwise they perish. Even if it's just for a few seconds, they won't make it. Which is why the tank at the aquarium is so dimly lit.
-The midwater aquarists actually hand feed a lot of the Ctenophores larval fish. He said they can't use gloves since it makes it difficult to get a precise feed, they do wear sleeves though, but it's painful at times to have your hand in 40F water for that long.

There's a lot more technical stuff about the filtration, plumbing, etc that he talks about so I highly suggest you check it out if interested.

 

[DaLilFishie]

-Something they found out about the Brisingid Stars is they can not be exposed to sunlight otherwise they perish. Even if it's just for a few seconds, they won't make it. Which is why the tank at the aquarium is so dimly lit.

Brisingids confirmed to be vampires?

I do wonder what could cause this, perhaps they're extremely sensitive to the UV rays? And would a camera flash have a similar effect? Of course there would be signs saying to not use flash, but all it takes is one person to not see it/ignore it.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

New Species Alert! The Crown Jelly (Nausithoe punctata)

The MBA Instagram posted as of today, the Crown Jelly (Nausithoe punctata) has made its debut. This is a small, clear Jelly with red dots that line up with each tentacle. There was a video from BTS last fall where someone did show off a similar species, if it was the same, that's cool they're able to display them now.

These look like they're in the "tiny" tank and if going based off recent video, that should mean the Mauve Stingers and Phyllosoma either moved or are off display.

(PS. Shoutout to the people that run the Instagram because they've been on top of the recent additions)

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

New Species Alert! The Crown Jelly (Nausithoe punctata)

The MBA Instagram posted as of today, the Crown Jelly (Nausithoe punctata) has made its debut. This is a small, clear Jelly with red dots that line up with each tentacle. There was a video from BTS last fall where someone did show off a similar species, if it was the same, that's cool they're able to display them now.

These look like they're in the "tiny" tank and if going based off recent video, that should mean the Mauve Stingers and Phyllosoma either moved or are off display.

(PS. Shoutout to the people that run the Instagram because they've been on top of the recent additions)
View attachment 667174View attachment 667175

And on a side note, they did mention that another Snakehead Eelpout (Lycenchelys sp.) was added to the "Muddy Bottom" tank and another Japanese Giant Spider Crab was added to the "Whale Fall" tank which now brings the number up to 5.

 

[splendens]

New Species Alert! The Crown Jelly (Nausithoe punctata)

The MBA Instagram posted as of today, the Crown Jelly (Nausithoe punctata) has made its debut. This is a small, clear Jelly with red dots that line up with each tentacle. There was a video from BTS last fall where someone did show off a similar species, if it was the same, that's cool they're able to display them now.

These look like they're in the "tiny" tank and if going based off recent video, that should mean the Mauve Stingers and Phyllosoma either moved or are off display.

(PS. Shoutout to the people that run the Instagram because they've been on top of the recent additions)
View attachment 667174View attachment 667175

That tank as of my latest visit held snow globe jellies and the mauve stingers were exhibited in a circular tank next to the bloody belly comb jellies in the red tank. There haven't been any phyllosoma for a while as far as I know.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

That tank as of my latest visit held snow globe jellies and the mauve stingers were exhibited in a circular tank next to the bloody belly comb jellies in the red tank. There haven't been any phyllosoma for a while as far as I know.

Ah gotcha, I was going based off the recent video they did on how they recreate the water parameters but it looks like those clips are outdated.
It also looks like the Dinner Plate Jelly either moved or is off display from the Insta story, Bolinopsis are back in the circle tank

 

[splendens]

A new jelly species is on display! According to George Matsumoto who along with Dr. Kevin Raskoff described this species and genus back in 2004, Stellamedusa ventana is now on exhibit!! This species is nicknamed Bumpy for the nematocyst warts on the bell and is signed as the bumpy jelly. It has no tentacles like Stygiomedusa.

Picture from George Matsumoto on discord.

 

[splendens]

This species should have replaced the Bolinopsis which themselves replaced the dinner plate jelly earlier.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

A new jelly species is on display! According to George Matsumoto who along with Dr. Kevin Raskoff described this species and genus back in 2004, Stellamedusa ventana is now on exhibit!! This species is nicknamed Bumpy for the nematocyst warts on the bell and is signed as the bumpy jelly. It has no tentacles like Stygiomedusa.

Picture from George Matsumoto on discord.

Video from Beth Redmond Jones of the Bumpy Jelly swimming, it looks very elegant
Catching up with a never displayed colleague at work today… Our colleagues in the Robison lab @mbari_news collected three bumpy jellies (Stellamedusa Ventana) during their research cruise on the R/V Rachel Carson. These jellies are now on display in the Into the Deep / En lo profundo exhibition. This is another first for the Aquarium (and the public aquarium industry)! This species is rare and was only described by MBARI scientists about 20 years ago (Raskoff and Matsumoto, 2004). #bumpyjelly #jellyfish #neverseenbefore #aquariumlife | Beth Redmond-Jones | Beth Redmond-Jones · Original audio

I may be going down next week for a day so hopefully I'll be returning with pics of this species and the others

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

It looks like the Bumpy Jellies are off display and the Bolinopsis are back according to the Aquarium's instagram story. It seems like the Bolinopsis act as a "placeholder species" for whenever they need to move a species behind the scenes. This means the current rotation of midwater animals is: (thanks to @splendens)
•Blood Belly Comb Jellies / Snow Globe Jellies / Mauve Stingers / Coronate Jellies / Abyssal Comb Jellies / Bolinopsis Comb Jellies / & Purple Lipped Jellies.

Another piece of information is that Tommy from the Jelly Team posted yesterday that they did collect a big haul of Dinner Plate Jellies (Solmissus) from the Bay so it looks like we see that species + potential other new species on display soon.