I remember the bonnetheads, but they are usually 2-5 feet long, while nurse sharks are an average of 7-9 feet long. NEAQ has lots of cool rays and smaller shark species, so complementing that collection with the return of a larger shark taxon after so many years is good news.
The New England Aquarium was home to the oldest African penguin held at an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facility, Deco, until this past summer when she sadly passed away. She was nearly 42 years old.
"The typical lifespan for an African penguin is ~10-15 years, and Deco was 41. Deco passed away this summer just 1.5 months shy of 42 years old, but her legacy will live on in our African penguin colony."
"Deco had one chick, which led to 6 grand chicks and 12 great-grand chicks, including our newest African penguin chick, Bray. It is safe to say our penguin colony would not be what it is today without her!"
A few invertebrates were recently incorporated into the Olympic Coast exhibit, those being gumboot chitons and giant California sea cucumbers. These are both seemingly great species that will be wonderful additions to the aquarium!
"Although the spikes on the giant California sea cucumber look menacing, they are actually very soft and flexible!
This sea cucumber is a recent addition to our Olympic Coast Sanctuary, and is often seen slowly moving up (or down) the exhibit glass."
"Polyplacophora is the class of invertebrates commonly known as chitons (pronounced kite-en). The gumboot chiton is the largest species of chiton in the world and can grow to be over a foot in length! They get around using a large foot on their underside, similar to snails and slugs, which allows them to slowly move around their habitat, and they eat seaweed and algae with their ferromagnetic teeth!"
On August 1st, the aquarium announced they rehabilitated and released (0.0.6) Kemp's ridley sea turtles and an additional (0.0.2) more green sea turtles into the wild.
On December 16th, it was announced that the aquarium transferred (0.0.5) Kemp's ridley sea turtles and (0.0.2) green sea turtles to the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium in Pennsylvania.
On December 19th, the aquarium announced they transferred (0.0.70) Kemp's ridley sea turtles to The Mississippi Aquarium and The Institute of Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi.
Four African penguins have hatched this year. The two pairs of parents each have both a male and a female chick. From my understanding, two chicks for a pair in one season is pretty uncommon.
information from a Facebook post on May 9:
"These four chicks hatched earlier this spring, with the oldest hatching on March 21 and the youngest hatching on April 18. The first two chicks' parents are Demersus III and Malgas II, which makes them siblings to our 2023 chick, Bray! The second two chicks hatched to first-time parents Jahleel III and Namibia IV. One of those chicks was fostered by experienced parents Durban and Harlequin."
"The older chick of the two sibling sets are both males, while each of their younger siblings are both females The chicks are currently living behind the scenes"
Four African penguins have hatched this year. The two pairs of parents each have both a male and a female chick. From my understanding, two chicks for a pair in one season is pretty uncommon.
information from a Facebook post on May 9:
"These four chicks hatched earlier this spring, with the oldest hatching on March 21 and the youngest hatching on April 18. The first two chicks' parents are Demersus III and Malgas II, which makes them siblings to our 2023 chick, Bray! The second two chicks hatched to first-time parents Jahleel III and Namibia IV. One of those chicks was fostered by experienced parents Durban and Harlequin."
"The older chick of the two sibling sets are both males, while each of their younger siblings are both females The chicks are currently living behind the scenes"
It's actually quite common for both parents to have two chicks. Often times however, the second is given to a pair not recommended to breed for that season. A bunch of swapping occurs - especially for large colonies that will have numerous recommendations to give the chicks the best chance of survival, alleviate some of the work for the original parents, and provide newer pairs with some practice.
On April 4th, the aquarium announced they transferred 34 sea turtles (of various species) to Jekyll Island in Georgia from 4 facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York to be released into the wild.
On May 2nd, the aquarium announced they, along with Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, rehabilitated and released 15 Kemp's ridley sea turtles and a green sea turtle back into the wild.
On July 30th, the aquarium announced they rehabilitated and released 6 Kemp's ridley sea turtles, 2 loggerhead sea turtles, and a green sea turtle into the wild.
Four African penguins have hatched this year. The two pairs of parents each have both a male and a female chick. From my understanding, two chicks for a pair in one season is pretty uncommon.
information from a Facebook post on May 9:
"These four chicks hatched earlier this spring, with the oldest hatching on March 21 and the youngest hatching on April 18. The first two chicks' parents are Demersus III and Malgas II, which makes them siblings to our 2023 chick, Bray! The second two chicks hatched to first-time parents Jahleel III and Namibia IV. One of those chicks was fostered by experienced parents Durban and Harlequin."
"The older chick of the two sibling sets are both males, while each of their younger siblings are both females The chicks are currently living behind the scenes"
On June 20th, the aquarium announced that (1.1) African penguins were named Bunker and Althea which are on exhibit. On July 10th, the aquarium announced the names of the other (1.1) African penguins, FitzPatrick and Oyster, which are on exhibit.
On September 14th, the aquarium announced they acquired a red grouper named Maria from the Maria Mitchell Aquarium in Massachusetts earlier in 2024 which is on display in the Giant Ocean Tank.
An article highlighting the Aquarium's husbandry for aging penguins in the colony. They have separated out older individuals in an exhibit space that, I believe, previously housed Little blue penguins in the Central Tray.
On April 14th, the aquarium announced they rehabilitated and released 25 Kemp's ridley sea turtles (as well as 8 sea turtles (species(s) not specified) from New York Marine Rescue Center in New York) back into the wild.
On January 17th, the aquarium opened a new gallery called 'Ancestral Fishes and African Rivers' to the public, containing species such as Asian arowana, Australian lungfish, longnose gar, shovelnose sturgeon, and spotted gar, as well as African butterflyfish, ropefish, and 8 species of elephantfish.
On January 26th, it was reported that the aquarium moved a (1.0) South American lungfish named Captain Bobo on display in the Ancestral Fishes and African Rivers gallery.
On January 21st, the aquarium announced they acquired 2+ short bigeyes, 2 snowy groupers, 2 orange filefish, a permit, a spotfin butterflyfish, and a yellow jack from Save the Bay's Hamilton Family Aquarium in Rhode Island, as well as a blue angelfish from WildCare Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and another permit caught by aquarium staff, which most are on display in the Great Ocean Tank.
On April 21st, it was announced that the aquarium transferred a (0.1) African penguin named Beach Donkey to Jenkinson's Aquarium in New Jersey in March 2024.
On May 9th, the aquarium announced they acquired 2+ shrimpfishes (species not specified), which are on display in the Healthy Corals, Healthy Reefs tank. The aquarium also announced they acquired 2+ white shrimp (species not specified), which are on display in the New England Seahorses exhibit.
On April 14th, the aquarium announced they rehabilitated and released 25 Kemp's ridley sea turtles (as well as 8 sea turtles (species(s) not specified) from New York Marine Rescue Center in New York) back into the wild.
On January 17th, the aquarium opened a new gallery called 'Ancestral Fishes and African Rivers' to the public, containing species such as Asian arowana, Australian lungfish, longnose gar, shovelnose sturgeon, and spotted gar, as well as African butterflyfish, ropefish, and 8 species of elephantfish.
On January 26th, it was reported that the aquarium moved a (1.0) South American lungfish named Captain Bobo on display in the Ancestral Fishes and African Rivers gallery.
On January 21st, the aquarium announced they acquired 2+ short bigeyes, 2 snowy groupers, 2 orange filefish, a permit, a spotfin butterflyfish, and a yellow jack from Save the Bay's Hamilton Family Aquarium in Rhode Island, as well as a blue angelfish from WildCare Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and another permit caught by aquarium staff, which most are on display in the Great Ocean Tank.
On April 21st, it was announced that the aquarium transferred a (0.1) African penguin named Beach Donkey to Jenkinson's Aquarium in New Jersey in March 2024.
On May 9th, the aquarium announced they acquired 2+ shrimpfishes (species not specified), which are on display in the Healthy Corals, Healthy Reefs tank. The aquarium also announced they acquired 2+ white shrimp (species not specified), which are on display in the New England Seahorses exhibit.
Is the new Ancestral fishes exhibit a renovation or different area? They already had a display with South American Lungfish and one with multiple species of elephantnose fish.
Is the new Ancestral fishes exhibit a renovation or different area? They already had a display with South American Lungfish and one with multiple species of elephantnose fish.
In the article, it was mentioned that the lungfish was on display briefly in 2018 but then was behind the scenes until Ancestral Fishes & African Rivers opened to the public.
