Aquarium Guide

With fun facts about more than 100 animals, this long-awaited Aquarium Guide includes beautiful pictures and reveals the incredible facts and design features that point to our amazing Creator. This handy size guide is excellent for school field trips and family trips to your favorite aquarium!

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Contents

• Archerfish

  

  pp. 12–13

  The archerfish gets its name from its ability to shoot a precisely-aimed stream of water at its prey, which are mostly insects living on land.

• Butterflyfish

  pp. 21–22

  The butterflyfish is a laterally thin fish.

• Unicornfish

  

  pp. 76–77

  The mouth of this fish (like other surgeonfishes) is perfectly designed to carefully remove the algae from coral while leaving the coral intact.

• Clown Triggerfish

  pp. 27–28

  The clown triggerfish gets its name because of its unusual coloring and pattern. The clown triggerfish’s lips are bright orange.

• Long Spine Porcupine Fish

  pp. 45–46

  The long-spine porcupinefish has dark patches on its sides and back. It has long spines that protrude from all over its body, except for the fins and face.

• Sea Dragon

  pp. 69–70

  The sea dragon has elaborate skin filaments that hang from its head, body, and tail.

• Seahorse

  

  pp. 71–72

  The body of the seahorse is similar to the leafy and weedy sea dragons.

• Bonnethead Shark

  

  pp. 93–94

  This shark is a grayish-brown color on its dorsal side with a lighter underside. It has small teeth in the front of its mouth and broad teeth in the back.

• Whale Shark

  

  pp. 107–108

  The whale shark is dark gray or greenish gray from its back to the middle of its sides. Its belly is off-white.

• Chambered Nautilus

  pp. 117–118

  The nautilus has an unusually long life span for a cephalopod; it may live for more than 15 years.

• Cleaner Shrimp

  pp. 121–122

  This shrimp is known for the orange coloring along its sides and the long red stripe on its dorsal side that is bisected by a narrow, white band.

• Cuttlefish

  

  pp. 133–134

  The thick internal shell of a cuttlefish is called a cuttlebone. It is made of calcium carbonate and contains numerous gas- and/or water-filled chambers.

• Feather Duster

  pp. 135–136

  The feather duster has a series of feathery tentacles on its head that it uses to filter nutrients from the water and take in oxygen.

• Ghost Crab

  

  pp. 137–138

  The ghost crab is aptly named. It is a pale, sandy color, making it almost invisible on the sand. Its black eyes are held aloft on stalks.

• Giant Octopus

  

  pp. 141–142

  The giant octopus is one of the largest invertebrates.

• Horseshoe Crab

  

  pp. 145–146

  The soft body of the horseshoe crab is protected by a hard, outer shell.

• Sea Slug

  pp. 159–160

  Most sea slugs are brightly colored, which may warn potential predators to stay away.

• Sea Star

  

  pp. 161–162

  The sea star usually has five sections or arms, or multiples of 5, 10, 20, or even 40 arms.

• Squid

  pp. 167–168

  The squid has two fins, a mantle, and a head that bears eight arms and two tentacles, each covered with suckers, which are armed with hooks or sucker rings.

• Albatross

  pp. 168–169

  With its large wings, the albatross uses wind currents to aid in extended flights.

• Arctic Tern

  pp. 175–176

  The Arctic tern has a white body with a black cap on its head, gray upper wings, back, and underparts, and a deeply forked white tail.

• Atlantic Puffin

  pp. 177–178

  All three species of puffins stand upright and have black and white head and body plumage. They also have brightly-colored bills, mostly yellow and orange.

• Emperor Penguin

  

  pp. 183–184

  The emperor penguin is the largest of the penguin species. It is easily recognized with its jet black head, grayish-black wings and back, and white belly.

• Flamingo

  pp. 185–186

  The flamingo is known for its bright pink feathers and uniquely downcurved black-tipped bill, which is adapted to filter feeding.

• Great White Pelican

  pp. 189–190

  The great white pelican has white feathers with black wing tips.

• Beluga Whale

  pp. 195–196

  The beluga whale is known for its milky white skin. Young are gray or pinkish brown at birth but fade to white as they grow.

• Bottlenose Dolphin

  pp. 197–198

  The name “bottlenose” comes from this dolphin’s elongated upper and lower jaws that form what is called the “rostrum.”

• Harbor Seal

  pp. 201–202

  The harbor seal is covered by a coat of short, thick hairs. These hairs are white to black.

• Killer Whale

  

  pp. 203–204

  Killer whales are the largest member of the dolphin family.

• Manatee

  pp. 205–206

  The manatee is a large creature with two fore-flippers and one rear flipper that acts as a rudder when it swims. The manatee is often referred to as a sea cow.

• Sea Otter

  

  pp. 207–208

  The sea otter has webbed hind feet which are perfect for swimming; its forefeet are smaller with semi-retractable claws.

• Diamondback Terrapin

  

  pp. 210–211

  The adult diamondback terrapin nests on sandy borders of coastal salt marshes or in dunes from June to July.

• Loggerhead Sea Turtle

  

  pp. 217–218

  Sea turtles can rest or sleep underwater for several hours at a time.

• Box Jellyfish

  

  The box jellyfish is able to see through four sets of eyes!

• American Lobster

  

  The lobster has a unique design. Its mouth is used for much more than just eating.

• Manta Ray

  

  Flexible horns are used to direct plankton and water into the manta’s very broad and wide mouth.

• Giant Clam

  

  The giant clam gets some of its food by filtering the seawater with its siphon.

• Common Murre

  The common murre dives after its food, often to depths of 100 ft (30 m).

• Chiton

  

  The chiton is well-designed for its habitat and diet.

• Common Limpet

  

  The shape of the limpet varies. The closer the limpet is to the water, the flatter and smaller its shell.

• Hermit Crab

  

  Some hermit crabs have an unusual relationship with the sea anemone.

• Leopard Shark

  

  Research indicates that the red blood cells of the leopard shark are smaller and more numerous than the red blood cells of other sharks.

• Queen Conch

  

  The conch builds its own shell out of calcium carbonate that it gets from the ocean.

• Spanish Dancer

  

  Part of this creature’s defense mechanism is its bright coloring.

• Mandarin Duck

  This bird is not hunted for food because it has a bad taste.

• Scallop

  

  The scallop has an incredibly strong muscle that keeps its shell closed.

• Sponge

  

  God designed the sponge with the ability to draw water into its body through tiny holes.

• Sea Anemone

  

  Some sea anemones have an important symbiotic relationship with algae species.

• Sea Cucumber

  

  When surprised by a predator, some sea cucumbers can expel their internal organs along with a sticky substance.

• Whelk

  

  The whelk uses its radula (a tongue-like feature with rows of teeth) to bore a hole into the shell of its prey to reach the protected flesh.

• Anhinga

  The anhinga’s neck, bill, and feet all help it catch prey.

• Common Mussel

  

  Common mussels live in large colonies.

• Common Sand Dollar

  

  Small but numerous spines of the common sand dollar are its primary tool for burrowing within the upper few centimeters of sandy ocean bottoms.

• Coral

  

  Scientists have discovered that coral has layers.

• Crayfish

  The crayfish must shed its hard exoskeleton in order for its soft body to grow and mature.

• Oyster

  

  The oyster is a filter-feeder that gets its food by filtering food particles from water with its gills.

• Sea Urchin

  

  The five bony teeth of the sea urchin were given to the original created kind to help it scrape algae (its food) from rocks.

• Double-Crested Cormorant

  The double-crested cormorant is designed with a hook-like tip on its bill, which helps it capture its prey underwater.

• Glaucous-Winged Gull

  The glaucous-winged gull eats mollusks that have hard outer shells by dropping them onto coastal rocks from the air to break them open.

• Nurse Shark

  

  Unlike most sharks, the nurse shark does not have to constantly move water across its gills to breathe.

• Stingray

  

  The eyes of the stingray are on the top of its body, while its mouth is on the underside of its body.

• Tiger Shark

  

  Like most sharks, the tiger shark has an incredible sense of smell.

• Whitetip Reef Shark

  

  The whitetip reef shark is a nocturnal creature.

• Zebra Shark

  

  Like other bottom-dwelling sharks, the zebra shark can pump water over its gills.

• Roseate Spoonbill

  The roseate spoonbill feeds by wading slowly through the water, sweeping its long bill from side to side.

• Alligator Snapping Turtle

  

  The alligator snapping turtle has a fascinating hunting technique.

• Marine Iguana

  

  Being a cold-blooded creature, the marine iguana can spend only a limited time in the cold water surrounding the Galapagos Islands to find its food.

• Sea Snake

  

  The sea snake is an air-breathing reptile and must come to the surface to breathe.

• Australian Lungfish

  With the Australian lungfish being limited to the waters of Queensland, Australia, how did remains of this creature get in Northern Ireland?

• Barracuda

  Originally, this creature did not eat meat; it ate plants since all animals were created vegetarians.

• Catfish

  The catfish can also secrete mucus that keeps it from drying out if it finds itself in an evaporating body of water.

• Cleaner Fish

  This fish is called a cleaner fish because it attracts larger fish to its cleaning station where the larger fish are cleaned.

• Copper Rockfish

  Unlike the salmon, which dies soon after spawning, the copper rockfish can live to reproduce year after year.

• Discus Fish

  As with other cichlids, both discus fish parents care for the young.

• Blacktip Reef Shark

  

  The blacktip reef shark is one of the only sharks that can jump fully out of the water.

• French Angelfish

  A young French angelfish has a unique “job” to perform in the ocean.

• Guppy

  The colors of different populations of guppies vary greatly depending on the number of predators.

• Humphead Wrasse

  

  The humphead wrasse has large, plump lips that make this fish the perfect creature to control the growth of toxic and spiny reef creatures.

• Longhorn Cowfish

  

  When foraging, the longhorn cowfish often blows jets of water out of its mouth at the sand surface to uncover buried prey.

• Longnose Hawkfish

  

  The longnose hawkfish often makes its home among flame corals, which have stinging cells called nematocysts.

• Lookdown

  

  The juvenile lookdown sports long filaments from its dorsal fin, which help it blend in with grasses.

• Mandarinfish

  

  The mandarinfish produces a thick mucous that covers its body. Scientists believe that this secretion could ward off potential predators.

• Moorish Idol

  

  The bars of color on the body of the Moorish idol break up the body outline and make it harder for predators to tell where the fish begins and ends.

• Moray Eel

  

  The shape of the moray eel allows it to hunt prey that is larger than it can swallow.

• Orange Clownfish

  

  The relationship that the clownfish has with a sea anemone is truly a wonderful design feature.

• Parrotfish

  

  The teeth of the parrotfish are uniquely designed to scrape algae from coral and rocks.

• Purple Firefish

  

  The firefish’s elongated dorsal fin is used to communicate with other firefish.

• Red-Bellied Piranha

  

  The piranha hunts in packs of 20-30.

• Reef Stonefish

  

  This creature’s amazing camouflage and attack structures point to its intelligent Creator.

• Remora

  

  The remora does not have a swim bladder.

• Scrawled Filefish

  

  The scrawled filefish can stand its primary dorsal fin erect to lodge itself into a crack or crevice of a reef.

• Smooth Trunkfish

  

  The smooth trunkfish “blows” jets of water at the seafloor to uncover organisms that are hidden.

• Spotted Garden Eel

  

  Tightening its muscular body to make itself rigid, the spotted garden eel drives its pointy tail deep into the sandy sea floor.

• Trumpetfish

  

  The trumpetfish is a sneaky predator.

• White Sturgeon

  

  By instinct, the white sturgeon spawns in swift-moving water.

• Yellow Perch

  

  Yellow perch are poor swimmers. As a result, these creatures swim in schools.

• Yellow Tang

  

  The yellow tang is designed with sharp spines near its tail to help protect itself against predators.

• Zebrafish

  

  The Creator gave the zebrafish the ability to regenerate its skin, fins, heart, and even its brain in larval stages.

• Blue Shark

  

  The blue shark’s sleek, tapered body makes it a graceful swimmer.

• Great Hammerhead Shark

  

  The most striking design feature is the shape of the great hammerhead shark’s head.