My totally honest review of the aquarium, with the rest of my trip report, can be seen here, where the text excerpts are pasted from.
Monterey Bay Aquarium - July 6th, 2024
“It’s no surprise to us ZooChatters that the Monterey Bay Aquarium is undoubtedly one of the best in the United States, if not the world. Many of us would be willing to brave long lines just to get in— which is exactly what I did today. The line to get in stretched down just past the corner of the block, but it wasn’t too horrible, seeing that I was taking my first photos around 10:20 or so.”
The Ocean’s Edge:
“I followed the same route that I did my last time at the aquarium five years ago (you can find that review here, if you truly have time to waste), starting with the popular sea otter exhibit…where the stars of the show unfortunately decided to no-show. So I moved on quickly, as much as I love sea otters, since my attention was focused elsewhere for the day.”
Sea Otters-
Southern Sea Otter
Kelp Bass
Garibaldi
Black Rockfish
Black and Yellow Rockfish
Black Perch
“The famous (well, what’s not famous here, let’s be honest) Kelp Forest! Definitely one of my absolute favorite tanks in this, or really any, aquarium. For those unfamiliar with this marvel, it’s 28-foot view into an underwater world, where you’ll see schools of anchovies balling around, leopard sharks gliding past, rockfish creeping around, and their huge giant sea bass making its rounds. Not only is it just an impressive view to look up at a stalk of kelp many times taller than you are, but it’s just an incredibly beautiful tank too. The way it’s designed, I personally feel as if I’m standing in a glass elevator that’s taking me down into the waters below. As one of the first exhibits to catch your eye upon entry, Kelp Forest is a warm invitation into the aquarium, but far from the last of the surprises you’ll find there.“
Kelp Forest-
California Sheephead
Leopard Shark
Kelp Bass
Treefish
Giant Sea Bass
Black Rockfish
Blue Rockfish
Warty Sea Cucumber
Gopher Rockfish
Copper Rockfish
Rainbow Seaperch
Striped Seaperch
Red Abalone
Red Sea Urchin
Kelp Rockfish
Senorita
Blacksmith
Opaleye
Kelp Perch
Northern Anchovy
Halfmoon
Sargo
Laysan Albatross
Monterey Bay Habitats-
“Opened in 1984 (their 40th anniversary just passed recently!) in the shell of an old cannery, the Monterey Bay Aquarium focuses on exhibiting species and displaying ecosystems native to the waters on the other side of its walls. For the main gallery of “smaller” exhibits, it does just that. Making your way through, you get a detailed look through just about every aspect of the bay. In the rocky crevices, you’ll see giant pacific octopus and wolf-eels, accompanied by a squad of invertebrates (especially the strawberry anemone) ubiquitous across the entire aquarium. One of my personal highlights in this section is the rockfish tank, which on my visit held eight species, showcasing the vivid colorations of rockfish aside from the dull blue, black, and brown many are familiar with.”
Giant Pacific Octopus
Rosy Rockfish
California Sea Cucumber
Sunflower Star
Vermilion Sea Star
Fish-Eating Anemone
Giant Pacific Octopus
Halfbanded Rockfish
Fish-Eating Anemone
Moss Crab
Wolf-Eel
Lingcod
Giant Plumose Anemone
Strawberry Anemone
Orange Puffball Sponge
Rock Scallop
Rock Scallop
Strawberry Anemone
Vermilion Rockfish
Spotted Red Anemone
Orange Puffball Sponge
Blackeye Goby
Painted Greenling
Longfin Sculpin
Sailfin Sculpin
Grunt Sculpin
Orange Puffball Sponge
Strawberry Anemone
Pacific Blood Star
“My favorite aquarium in the gallery is the large shark(?) tank, which is viewable throughout the gallery at a few different windows. Here, you’ll find some rarities such as the broadnose sevengill shark, which is a pleasure to watch, and the Pacific angel shark (which I could not find). Their exhibits are very well designed to showcase the natural scapes of the bay, and I really enjoy the larger, panoramic examples such as this.“
Giant Sea Bass
Boccacio
Giant Plumose Anemone
Cowcod
Striped Bass
White Sturgeon
Yellowtail Rockfish
Leopard Shark
Bat Ray
Broadnose Sevengill Shark
Red Gorgonian
Pacific Spiny Dogfish
Vermilion Rockfish
Kelp Bass
Shovelnose Guitarfish
California Halibut
Jack Mackerel
Honeycomb Rockfish
Flag Rockfish
Fish-Eating Anemone
White Seabass
Canary Rockfish
China Rockfish
Pacific Angel Shark
Black Perch
Vermilion Rockfish
Canary Rockfish
China Rockfish
Rosy Rockfish
Copper Rockfish
Flag Rockfish
Gopher Rockfish
Yelloweye Rockfish
“The middle portion of the gallery focuses on the sandy floors of the bay, and it was here that I haparticularly fun moments: first, I became familiar with the longspine combfish (which was unsigned) which I felt was particularly noteworthy because its a crazy cool-looking species in general. Second, I finally was able to see the blackeye goby, a species which evaded me at the Cal Academy as well as multiple previous tanks at Monterey…but nonetheless I prevailed
.“
Tube Anemone (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus)
Big Skate
Sea Pen
Sanddab
Pacific Pompano
Big Skate
Curlfin Turbot
Lewis’s Moonsnail
Spiny Sand Star
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Pacific Sand Dollar.
Spiny Brittle Star
Spotted Cusk-Eel
Piddock Clam
Fringehead
Rock Scallop
Blackeye Goby
Coralline Algae
Orange Puffball Sponge
Spotted Red Anemone
Red Volcano Sponge
Lined Chiton
Ida’s Miter
Orange Cup Coral
California Sea Cucumber
Chestnut Cowrie
Strawberry Anemone
Carnivorous Chiton
Skeleton Shrimp
Striped Seaperch
Walleye Surfperch
Rainbow Seaperch
Acorn Barnacle
California Mussel
Sand Sole (Psettichthys melanostictus)
Sarcastic Fringehead
Blackeye Goby
Vermilion Rockfish
Striped Seaperch
Rock Scallop
Strawberry Anemone
Mosshead Warbonnet
“Exiting the gallery, we work our way out of the depths to the shores, where there’s some interesting species such as the fat innkeeper worm, bay pipefish, and tube-snout. There’s also some particularly fun tidal displays, namely a tank for reef surfperch where guests can spin a wheel to change the direction of the current. While it is educational to see how the fish adapt to the changes, I do wonder whether this is particularly bothersome to the animals or not— though this is probably how rough their natural habitat is anyway.“
Fat Innkeeper
Callinassa californiensis
Hermit Crab
Moonglow Anemone
Sea Grapes
Bay Pipefish
Dwarf Perch
Tubesnout
Threespine Stickleback
Owl Limpet
Purple Sea Urchin
Giant Green Anemone
Bat Star
Striped Shore Crab
Scaled Worm Snail (Serpulorbis squamigerus)
Reef Surfperch
Purple Sea Urchin
Bat Star
Giant Green Anemone
Red Abalone
Orange Cup Coral
Hermit Crab
Lined Chiton
Aggregating Anemone
Opaleye
Monkeyface Prickleback
Red Abalone
Zebraperch
California Mussel
Orange Cup Coral
Crevice Kelpfish
Black Turban Snail
Hermit Crab
“Now, onto the aviary!! This is my absolute favorite of the Monterey Bay Habitats, and it totally has nothing to do with my affinity for birds
. I easily spent the longest time looking and photographing here (30 minutes or so), and was lucky enough to catch a feeding demonstration in that time. The birds, shy at first, darted around the exhibit wary of the keeper when she entered. But, upon realization this intruder carried food with her, the birds quickly let down their guard and became rather greedy menaces. Highlights here included the red-necked phalarope and the American avocet— one of my personal favorites.“
Aviary-
American Avocet
Snowy Plover
Least Sandpiper
Red Pharalope
Red-Necked Phalarope
Black-Bellied Stilt
Black-Bellied Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Killdeer
Marbled Godwit
Red Knot
Jacksmelt
Western Sandpiper
Dunlin
Shiner Perch
Bat Ray
Leopard Shark
Round Stingray
Thornback
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Jacksmelt
Black Oystercatcher
Touch Pools-
California Mussel
Moss Crab
Top Snail
Black Turban Snail
Purple Sea Urchin
Red Abalone
Gumboot Chiton
Topsmelt
Shiner Perch
Bat Ray.
Starry Flounder
Sand Crab (Emerita analoga)
Rainbow Trout
California Red-Legged Frog
Threespine Stickleback
California Toad
Outside:
Western Pond Turtle
Threespine Stickleback
Sacramento Sucker
Hitch
Sacramento Pikeminnow
Rainbow Trout
“Now, the part of Monterey we’ve all been waiting for— Into the Deep! Since the exhibit’s announcement however long back, it’s been on my mind to make a return back to the aquarium. And man, was it stunning. I really had no idea what I was expecting, but I definitely was not expecting the exhibition to be as large and extensive as it was. Into the Deep is organized into five sections, beginning with your descent into the ocean’s depths. Once there, you’re met with another, lower view into the Open Ocean tank— an addition I enjoyed when it was incorporated into previous temporary exhibition on my last visit.
Animals first appear in midwater gallery, featuring a series of jelly tanks. It’s rare that I (and I’d assume the most of us) see any jellies beyond the usual three: moon jellies, sea nettles, and upside-down jellies. So, to be in a room filled with siphonophores, crown jellies, and comb jellies (very, very many of them) was definitely something else. Specifically, I remember having a little out-of-this-world moment watching their display of an undescribed comb jelly species. How surreal is it to be able to witness a species so new to science that it’s yet to be named? Like the jelly, my feelings were indescribable. The seafloor gallery was equally mesmerizing. While the tanks aren’t stocked with giant squids, oarfish, or whatever behemoths we first associate the deep sea with, the focus on various wild-looking sea stars, corals, sea cucumbers, etc. opened up a new appreciation for these overlooked species I hadn’t had before. There’s a fair share of larger animals too, though. Giant isopods and lumpsuckers, as well as an impressive whale fall exhibit that includes spider crabs, various fish, and my personal highlight: the Australian ghostshark. After missing out on a chimaera sighting earlier in the summer at Omaha, I was glad to have that chance here.”
Into the Deep:
Tower Jelly
Nanomia bijuga
Beroe abyssicola
Lampocteis cruentiventer
Crown Jelly (new species)
Earleria purpurea
Eurhamphea vexilligera
Undescribed jelly
Megalodicopia hians
Droopy Sea Pen
Snakehead Eelpout
Gersemia juliepackardae
Psolus squamatus
Heteropolypus ritteri
Fire Star
Bathynomus doederleini
Callistephanus simplex
Pacific Hagfish
Liponema brevicorne
Sea Spider
Gorgonocephalus eucnemis
Florometra serratissima
Heteropolypus ritteri
Paragorgia arborea
Sibogagorgia cauliflora
Isidella tentaculum
Callistephanus kofoidi
Cyclopterus lumpus
Sebastolobus altivelis
Sebastolobus alascanus
Pentaceros japonicus
Callorhinchus milii
Japanese Spider Crab
Sablefish
Strongylocentrotus fragilis
Spiny Red Star
Big Roughy
Bathynomus giganteus
Bone-Eating Worm
“The next few sections of the aquarium are ones I tend to gloss over, due to my combined general disinterest in its inhabitants and the congestion. As such, my reflection will be rather short. The exhibits include the rest of the Monterey Bay Habitats (touch pools and freshwater exhibits, though I’d like to honorably mention the wave tunnel, that’s always fun to walk through), Coral Kingdom, the Penguin exhibit, and the Enchanted Kelp Forest. If this journal hasn’t bored you already, any account of mine for these exhibits will definitely do the job. I do have some pictures, though:“
Splash Zone:
Coral Kingdom-
Clownfish
Yellow Tang
Pink Anemonefish
Bubbletip Anemone
Blue Tang
Devil Damselfish
Pajama Cardinalfish
Longnose Butterflyfish
Tomini Bristletooth Tang
Bicolor Foxface
Copperband Butterflyfish
Longspine Urchin
Squarespot Anthias
Scopas Tang
Threespot Dascyllus
Masked Swallowtail Angelfish
Springeri Damselfish
Japan Surgeonfish
Azure Damselfish
Lemon Chromis
Sea Goldie
Banggai Cardinalfish
Pyramid Butterflyfish
Bluegreen Chromis
Copperband Butterflyfish
Naso Tang
Purple Tang
Sea Goldie
Bartlett’s Anthias
Blue and Gold Fusilier
Christmas Wrasse
Blue-Spotted Wrasse
Three-Spot Dasycllus
Whitetail Dascyllus
Bicolor Chromis
Purple Queen
Yellowflanked Fairy Wrasse
Talbot’s Damsel
Cortez Banded Butterflyfish
Bluethroat Triggerfish
Yellow-Spotted Moray Eel
Snowflake Moray Eel
Zebra Moray Eel
Cleaner Shrimp
Harlequin Tuskfish
Bristletail Filefish
Polka Dot Cardinalfish
Blackbar Chromis
Peacock Mantis Shrimp
Mandarinfish
Longspine Urchin
Shrimpfish
Fluted Giant Clam
Smooth Giant Clam
Purple Tang
Pajama Cardinalfish
Flame Angelfish
Springeri Damselfish
Sixline Wrasse
Fire Shrimp
Coral
Yellowtail Damselfish
Northern Clingfish
Giant Spined Star
Giant Green Anemone
Bat Star
Crevice Kelpfish
Reef Surfperch
White-Spotted Reef Anemone
Hermit Crab
Leaping Blenny
California Moray
Spiny Lobster
Penguins-
African Penguin
Enchanted Kelp Forest-
Northern Anchovy
Blacksmith
Senorita
Jeweled Top Snail
Salema
Decorator Crab
Purple Sea Urchin
Red Volcano Sponge
Ochre Star
Garibaldi
Swell Shark
Red Abalone
Senorita
Chestnut Cowrie
Orange Puffball Sponge
California Sea Cucumber
Bat Star
Kellet’s Whelk
Red Abalone
Opaleye
Senorita
Blacksmith
Garibaldi
Sheephead
Salema
Blue Rockfish
Kelp Crab
Kelp Perch
Giant Kelpfish
Opaleye
Senorita
Salema
Garibaldi
Blacksmith
California Sheepshead
Kelp Bass
Lion’s Mane Sea Slug
Strawberry Anemone
Red Gorgonian
Orange Puffball Sponge
Red Volcano Sponge
Bluebanded Goby
Rock Scallop
Swell Shark
Blue Rockfish
California Moray Eel
Sargo
Fish-Eating Anemone
China Rockfish
California Sea Cucumber
Painted Greenling
Kelp Rockfish
Cabezon
Horn Shark
Black and Yellow Rockfish
Garibaldi
Red Octopus
“The Open Ocean. You’ve all heard of it. It’s likely the first exhibit that comes to mind at the mention of the aquarium, and deservedly so. Every detail of the gallery is unique and stunning, starting with the impressionable Pacific sardine rotunda cycling above you upon entry. Impressionable, I say, because it’s this exhibit and its memory that still hold fresh in my mind many years since my first visit as a young child. No less amazing is the jellyfish gallery, which provided me with great photo opportunities and even greater species.”
The Open Sea:
Pacific Sardine
Pacific Mackerel
Purple-Striped Jellyfish
Moon Jelly (Aurelia labiata)
Sea Gooseberry (Hormiphora californensis)
Spotted Comb Jelly (Leucothea pulchra)
Pacific Sea Nettle
Crystal Jelly
Moon Jelly
“Of course, the star of the show is the 1.2-million gallon tank housing a variety of pelagic species. Its window, several dozen feet long, provides a wonderful view to the massive schools of sardines and tuna. In its past, great white sharks and ocean sunfish have called the aquarium home, but on my visit the exhibit held ‘just’ hammerheads, tuna, mahi-mahi, stingrays, and sea turtles. I could easily spend hours watching the exhibits’ inhabitants glide by— there’s just something so calming about the vast image of the open ocean, illuminated by the few columns of light that slice into the depths.”
Scalloped Hammerhead
Dolphinfish
Pelagic Stingray
Pacific Sardine
Yellowfin Tuna
Pacific Bonito
Green Sea Turtle
Northern Anchovy
Pelagic Red Crab
Common Murre
Tufted Pufffin
Wildlife (just some sightings because why not):
California Brown Pelican
Pigeon Guillemot
Western Gull
Harbour Seal
Pelagic Cormorant
Monterey Bay Aquarium - July 6th, 2024
“It’s no surprise to us ZooChatters that the Monterey Bay Aquarium is undoubtedly one of the best in the United States, if not the world. Many of us would be willing to brave long lines just to get in— which is exactly what I did today. The line to get in stretched down just past the corner of the block, but it wasn’t too horrible, seeing that I was taking my first photos around 10:20 or so.”
The Ocean’s Edge:
“I followed the same route that I did my last time at the aquarium five years ago (you can find that review here, if you truly have time to waste), starting with the popular sea otter exhibit…where the stars of the show unfortunately decided to no-show. So I moved on quickly, as much as I love sea otters, since my attention was focused elsewhere for the day.”
Sea Otters-
Southern Sea Otter
Kelp Bass
Garibaldi
Black Rockfish
Black and Yellow Rockfish
Black Perch
“The famous (well, what’s not famous here, let’s be honest) Kelp Forest! Definitely one of my absolute favorite tanks in this, or really any, aquarium. For those unfamiliar with this marvel, it’s 28-foot view into an underwater world, where you’ll see schools of anchovies balling around, leopard sharks gliding past, rockfish creeping around, and their huge giant sea bass making its rounds. Not only is it just an impressive view to look up at a stalk of kelp many times taller than you are, but it’s just an incredibly beautiful tank too. The way it’s designed, I personally feel as if I’m standing in a glass elevator that’s taking me down into the waters below. As one of the first exhibits to catch your eye upon entry, Kelp Forest is a warm invitation into the aquarium, but far from the last of the surprises you’ll find there.“
Kelp Forest-
California Sheephead
Leopard Shark
Kelp Bass
Treefish
Giant Sea Bass
Black Rockfish
Blue Rockfish
Warty Sea Cucumber
Gopher Rockfish
Copper Rockfish
Rainbow Seaperch
Striped Seaperch
Red Abalone
Red Sea Urchin
Kelp Rockfish
Senorita
Blacksmith
Opaleye
Kelp Perch
Northern Anchovy
Halfmoon
Sargo
Laysan Albatross
Monterey Bay Habitats-
“Opened in 1984 (their 40th anniversary just passed recently!) in the shell of an old cannery, the Monterey Bay Aquarium focuses on exhibiting species and displaying ecosystems native to the waters on the other side of its walls. For the main gallery of “smaller” exhibits, it does just that. Making your way through, you get a detailed look through just about every aspect of the bay. In the rocky crevices, you’ll see giant pacific octopus and wolf-eels, accompanied by a squad of invertebrates (especially the strawberry anemone) ubiquitous across the entire aquarium. One of my personal highlights in this section is the rockfish tank, which on my visit held eight species, showcasing the vivid colorations of rockfish aside from the dull blue, black, and brown many are familiar with.”
Giant Pacific Octopus
Rosy Rockfish
California Sea Cucumber
Sunflower Star
Vermilion Sea Star
Fish-Eating Anemone
Giant Pacific Octopus
Halfbanded Rockfish
Fish-Eating Anemone
Moss Crab
Wolf-Eel
Lingcod
Giant Plumose Anemone
Strawberry Anemone
Orange Puffball Sponge
Rock Scallop
Rock Scallop
Strawberry Anemone
Vermilion Rockfish
Spotted Red Anemone
Orange Puffball Sponge
Blackeye Goby
Painted Greenling
Longfin Sculpin
Sailfin Sculpin
Grunt Sculpin
Orange Puffball Sponge
Strawberry Anemone
Pacific Blood Star
“My favorite aquarium in the gallery is the large shark(?) tank, which is viewable throughout the gallery at a few different windows. Here, you’ll find some rarities such as the broadnose sevengill shark, which is a pleasure to watch, and the Pacific angel shark (which I could not find). Their exhibits are very well designed to showcase the natural scapes of the bay, and I really enjoy the larger, panoramic examples such as this.“
Giant Sea Bass
Boccacio
Giant Plumose Anemone
Cowcod
Striped Bass
White Sturgeon
Yellowtail Rockfish
Leopard Shark
Bat Ray
Broadnose Sevengill Shark
Red Gorgonian
Pacific Spiny Dogfish
Vermilion Rockfish
Kelp Bass
Shovelnose Guitarfish
California Halibut
Jack Mackerel
Honeycomb Rockfish
Flag Rockfish
Fish-Eating Anemone
White Seabass
Canary Rockfish
China Rockfish
Pacific Angel Shark
Black Perch
Vermilion Rockfish
Canary Rockfish
China Rockfish
Rosy Rockfish
Copper Rockfish
Flag Rockfish
Gopher Rockfish
Yelloweye Rockfish
“The middle portion of the gallery focuses on the sandy floors of the bay, and it was here that I haparticularly fun moments: first, I became familiar with the longspine combfish (which was unsigned) which I felt was particularly noteworthy because its a crazy cool-looking species in general. Second, I finally was able to see the blackeye goby, a species which evaded me at the Cal Academy as well as multiple previous tanks at Monterey…but nonetheless I prevailed
.“Tube Anemone (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus)
Big Skate
Sea Pen
Sanddab
Pacific Pompano
Big Skate
Curlfin Turbot
Lewis’s Moonsnail
Spiny Sand Star
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Pacific Sand Dollar.
Spiny Brittle Star
Spotted Cusk-Eel
Piddock Clam
Fringehead
Rock Scallop
Blackeye Goby
Coralline Algae
Orange Puffball Sponge
Spotted Red Anemone
Red Volcano Sponge
Lined Chiton
Ida’s Miter
Orange Cup Coral
California Sea Cucumber
Chestnut Cowrie
Strawberry Anemone
Carnivorous Chiton
Skeleton Shrimp
Striped Seaperch
Walleye Surfperch
Rainbow Seaperch
Acorn Barnacle
California Mussel
Sand Sole (Psettichthys melanostictus)
Sarcastic Fringehead
Blackeye Goby
Vermilion Rockfish
Striped Seaperch
Rock Scallop
Strawberry Anemone
Mosshead Warbonnet
“Exiting the gallery, we work our way out of the depths to the shores, where there’s some interesting species such as the fat innkeeper worm, bay pipefish, and tube-snout. There’s also some particularly fun tidal displays, namely a tank for reef surfperch where guests can spin a wheel to change the direction of the current. While it is educational to see how the fish adapt to the changes, I do wonder whether this is particularly bothersome to the animals or not— though this is probably how rough their natural habitat is anyway.“
Fat Innkeeper
Callinassa californiensis
Hermit Crab
Moonglow Anemone
Sea Grapes
Bay Pipefish
Dwarf Perch
Tubesnout
Threespine Stickleback
Owl Limpet
Purple Sea Urchin
Giant Green Anemone
Bat Star
Striped Shore Crab
Scaled Worm Snail (Serpulorbis squamigerus)
Reef Surfperch
Purple Sea Urchin
Bat Star
Giant Green Anemone
Red Abalone
Orange Cup Coral
Hermit Crab
Lined Chiton
Aggregating Anemone
Opaleye
Monkeyface Prickleback
Red Abalone
Zebraperch
California Mussel
Orange Cup Coral
Crevice Kelpfish
Black Turban Snail
Hermit Crab
“Now, onto the aviary!! This is my absolute favorite of the Monterey Bay Habitats, and it totally has nothing to do with my affinity for birds
. I easily spent the longest time looking and photographing here (30 minutes or so), and was lucky enough to catch a feeding demonstration in that time. The birds, shy at first, darted around the exhibit wary of the keeper when she entered. But, upon realization this intruder carried food with her, the birds quickly let down their guard and became rather greedy menaces. Highlights here included the red-necked phalarope and the American avocet— one of my personal favorites.“Aviary-
American Avocet
Snowy Plover
Least Sandpiper
Red Pharalope
Red-Necked Phalarope
Black-Bellied Stilt
Black-Bellied Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Killdeer
Marbled Godwit
Red Knot
Jacksmelt
Western Sandpiper
Dunlin
Shiner Perch
Bat Ray
Leopard Shark
Round Stingray
Thornback
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Jacksmelt
Black Oystercatcher
Touch Pools-
California Mussel
Moss Crab
Top Snail
Black Turban Snail
Purple Sea Urchin
Red Abalone
Gumboot Chiton
Topsmelt
Shiner Perch
Bat Ray.
Starry Flounder
Sand Crab (Emerita analoga)
Rainbow Trout
California Red-Legged Frog
Threespine Stickleback
California Toad
Outside:
Western Pond Turtle
Threespine Stickleback
Sacramento Sucker
Hitch
Sacramento Pikeminnow
Rainbow Trout
“Now, the part of Monterey we’ve all been waiting for— Into the Deep! Since the exhibit’s announcement however long back, it’s been on my mind to make a return back to the aquarium. And man, was it stunning. I really had no idea what I was expecting, but I definitely was not expecting the exhibition to be as large and extensive as it was. Into the Deep is organized into five sections, beginning with your descent into the ocean’s depths. Once there, you’re met with another, lower view into the Open Ocean tank— an addition I enjoyed when it was incorporated into previous temporary exhibition on my last visit.
Animals first appear in midwater gallery, featuring a series of jelly tanks. It’s rare that I (and I’d assume the most of us) see any jellies beyond the usual three: moon jellies, sea nettles, and upside-down jellies. So, to be in a room filled with siphonophores, crown jellies, and comb jellies (very, very many of them) was definitely something else. Specifically, I remember having a little out-of-this-world moment watching their display of an undescribed comb jelly species. How surreal is it to be able to witness a species so new to science that it’s yet to be named? Like the jelly, my feelings were indescribable. The seafloor gallery was equally mesmerizing. While the tanks aren’t stocked with giant squids, oarfish, or whatever behemoths we first associate the deep sea with, the focus on various wild-looking sea stars, corals, sea cucumbers, etc. opened up a new appreciation for these overlooked species I hadn’t had before. There’s a fair share of larger animals too, though. Giant isopods and lumpsuckers, as well as an impressive whale fall exhibit that includes spider crabs, various fish, and my personal highlight: the Australian ghostshark. After missing out on a chimaera sighting earlier in the summer at Omaha, I was glad to have that chance here.”
Into the Deep:
Tower Jelly
Nanomia bijuga
Beroe abyssicola
Lampocteis cruentiventer
Crown Jelly (new species)
Earleria purpurea
Eurhamphea vexilligera
Undescribed jelly
Megalodicopia hians
Droopy Sea Pen
Snakehead Eelpout
Gersemia juliepackardae
Psolus squamatus
Heteropolypus ritteri
Fire Star
Bathynomus doederleini
Callistephanus simplex
Pacific Hagfish
Liponema brevicorne
Sea Spider
Gorgonocephalus eucnemis
Florometra serratissima
Heteropolypus ritteri
Paragorgia arborea
Sibogagorgia cauliflora
Isidella tentaculum
Callistephanus kofoidi
Cyclopterus lumpus
Sebastolobus altivelis
Sebastolobus alascanus
Pentaceros japonicus
Callorhinchus milii
Japanese Spider Crab
Sablefish
Strongylocentrotus fragilis
Spiny Red Star
Big Roughy
Bathynomus giganteus
Bone-Eating Worm
“The next few sections of the aquarium are ones I tend to gloss over, due to my combined general disinterest in its inhabitants and the congestion. As such, my reflection will be rather short. The exhibits include the rest of the Monterey Bay Habitats (touch pools and freshwater exhibits, though I’d like to honorably mention the wave tunnel, that’s always fun to walk through), Coral Kingdom, the Penguin exhibit, and the Enchanted Kelp Forest. If this journal hasn’t bored you already, any account of mine for these exhibits will definitely do the job. I do have some pictures, though:“
Splash Zone:
Coral Kingdom-
Clownfish
Yellow Tang
Pink Anemonefish
Bubbletip Anemone
Blue Tang
Devil Damselfish
Pajama Cardinalfish
Longnose Butterflyfish
Tomini Bristletooth Tang
Bicolor Foxface
Copperband Butterflyfish
Longspine Urchin
Squarespot Anthias
Scopas Tang
Threespot Dascyllus
Masked Swallowtail Angelfish
Springeri Damselfish
Japan Surgeonfish
Azure Damselfish
Lemon Chromis
Sea Goldie
Banggai Cardinalfish
Pyramid Butterflyfish
Bluegreen Chromis
Copperband Butterflyfish
Naso Tang
Purple Tang
Sea Goldie
Bartlett’s Anthias
Blue and Gold Fusilier
Christmas Wrasse
Blue-Spotted Wrasse
Three-Spot Dasycllus
Whitetail Dascyllus
Bicolor Chromis
Purple Queen
Yellowflanked Fairy Wrasse
Talbot’s Damsel
Cortez Banded Butterflyfish
Bluethroat Triggerfish
Yellow-Spotted Moray Eel
Snowflake Moray Eel
Zebra Moray Eel
Cleaner Shrimp
Harlequin Tuskfish
Bristletail Filefish
Polka Dot Cardinalfish
Blackbar Chromis
Peacock Mantis Shrimp
Mandarinfish
Longspine Urchin
Shrimpfish
Fluted Giant Clam
Smooth Giant Clam
Purple Tang
Pajama Cardinalfish
Flame Angelfish
Springeri Damselfish
Sixline Wrasse
Fire Shrimp
Coral
Yellowtail Damselfish
Northern Clingfish
Giant Spined Star
Giant Green Anemone
Bat Star
Crevice Kelpfish
Reef Surfperch
White-Spotted Reef Anemone
Hermit Crab
Leaping Blenny
California Moray
Spiny Lobster
Penguins-
African Penguin
Enchanted Kelp Forest-
Northern Anchovy
Blacksmith
Senorita
Jeweled Top Snail
Salema
Decorator Crab
Purple Sea Urchin
Red Volcano Sponge
Ochre Star
Garibaldi
Swell Shark
Red Abalone
Senorita
Chestnut Cowrie
Orange Puffball Sponge
California Sea Cucumber
Bat Star
Kellet’s Whelk
Red Abalone
Opaleye
Senorita
Blacksmith
Garibaldi
Sheephead
Salema
Blue Rockfish
Kelp Crab
Kelp Perch
Giant Kelpfish
Opaleye
Senorita
Salema
Garibaldi
Blacksmith
California Sheepshead
Kelp Bass
Lion’s Mane Sea Slug
Strawberry Anemone
Red Gorgonian
Orange Puffball Sponge
Red Volcano Sponge
Bluebanded Goby
Rock Scallop
Swell Shark
Blue Rockfish
California Moray Eel
Sargo
Fish-Eating Anemone
China Rockfish
California Sea Cucumber
Painted Greenling
Kelp Rockfish
Cabezon
Horn Shark
Black and Yellow Rockfish
Garibaldi
Red Octopus
“The Open Ocean. You’ve all heard of it. It’s likely the first exhibit that comes to mind at the mention of the aquarium, and deservedly so. Every detail of the gallery is unique and stunning, starting with the impressionable Pacific sardine rotunda cycling above you upon entry. Impressionable, I say, because it’s this exhibit and its memory that still hold fresh in my mind many years since my first visit as a young child. No less amazing is the jellyfish gallery, which provided me with great photo opportunities and even greater species.”
The Open Sea:
Pacific Sardine
Pacific Mackerel
Purple-Striped Jellyfish
Moon Jelly (Aurelia labiata)
Sea Gooseberry (Hormiphora californensis)
Spotted Comb Jelly (Leucothea pulchra)
Pacific Sea Nettle
Crystal Jelly
Moon Jelly
“Of course, the star of the show is the 1.2-million gallon tank housing a variety of pelagic species. Its window, several dozen feet long, provides a wonderful view to the massive schools of sardines and tuna. In its past, great white sharks and ocean sunfish have called the aquarium home, but on my visit the exhibit held ‘just’ hammerheads, tuna, mahi-mahi, stingrays, and sea turtles. I could easily spend hours watching the exhibits’ inhabitants glide by— there’s just something so calming about the vast image of the open ocean, illuminated by the few columns of light that slice into the depths.”
Scalloped Hammerhead
Dolphinfish
Pelagic Stingray
Pacific Sardine
Yellowfin Tuna
Pacific Bonito
Green Sea Turtle
Northern Anchovy
Pelagic Red Crab
Common Murre
Tufted Pufffin
Wildlife (just some sightings because why not
):California Brown Pelican
Pigeon Guillemot
Western Gull
Harbour Seal
Pelagic Cormorant