Animal Update – November 2

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

Margined Madtoms

We have two margined madtom catfish Noturus insignis in our Maryland: Mountains to the Sea exhibit. These fish were transferred from their home at National Aquarium, Washington DC to their new home here in Baltimore!

This species of catfish is commonly found in rocky riffles and small rivers throughout the Atlantic slope, from southern Quebec to Georgia.

While this species is more common in the United States, it is considered threatened in Canada.

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!

Animal Update – October 26

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

Juvenile Nautilus 

Several new small chambered nautilus have been added to the nautilus tank in our Sensing gallery. The larger, older nautilus was removed and placed in backup while the new ones undergo a quarantine period.

Chambered nautilus

Did you know the nautilus is considered to be a “living fossil”? This species has undergone little change in more than 400 million years! The nautilus dominated the ancient seas before the rise of fishes, and appeared about 265 million years before the first dinosaurs. In prehistoric times, there were about 10,000 different species of the nautilus, but only a few species survived to the present.

Moon Jellies!

Ten beautiful new moon jellies have been added to our Jellies gallery at National Aquarium, Washington DC.

These jellies were actually born at our Baltimore location! The moon jellies are our most prolific species, meaning they produce the most offspring. We are able to control culturing life-cycle stages through manual temperature manipulation at our jellies lab. Petri dishes covered in polyps (sedentary stage) of this species spend three weeks in a refrigerator.

Juvenile moon jelly

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!

Animal Update – October 19

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

Baby Froglets!

We’ve seen a few tricolor poison dart froglets hopping around in our Hidden Life Gallery.

Can you spot the froglet?

The tricolor, or phantasmal, poison dart frog (Epipedobates tricolor) is a small red or brown poison dart frog with blue stripes that is found in the rain forests of the Andean slopes of Ecuador.

Baby tricolor poison dart frog

We haven’t confirmed how many babies there are just yet but we’ll keep you updated! Stop by to see the young froglets in the Hidden Life exhibit, closest to the rotating door headed toward our Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit!

Seastars and ratfish return to DC

One spotted ratfish and four leather sea stars were added back to our Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries exhibit this week.

Spotted Ratfish

This exhibits was upgraded over the summer and is now fitted with an acrylic window, there should be no more condensation during warm weather!

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!

Animal Update – October 12

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

We’ve added three lumpfish to our Stellwagen Bank exhibit! 

Lumpfish can be abundantly found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic – from Norway and Iceland to the New England coast. While the species has been an important food source for European countries, it is seldom consumed in the United States.

Lumpfish are primarily bottom-dwellers. Their pelvic fins are modified into a suction disk so you will most spot them attached to one of the vertical walls.

The species ranges in color from a bluish gray to an olive green or dark brown, they can be distinguished by the wart-like growths that cover their skin.

In many cases, lumpfish have been successfully trained by institutions to perform behaviors like swimming through a hoop. As our lumpfish become more comfortable in their new home, we hope to begin working with them on these types of enrichment.

Endangered Texas blind salamanders! 

Recently, we introduced you to our new Texas blind salamanders. We’re happy to report that they are progressing well through the quarantine process!

This species can only be found in one place in the world – a cave near San Marcos, Texas

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!

Animal Update – October 5

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

A new porcupinefish in our Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit! 

We have a new porcupinefish Diodon hystrix in our Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit! You can easily spot our newest addition, Gizmo, because she is the smallest of our three porcupinefish in the reef.

Did you know? A porcupinefish can grow to a maximum length of 3 feet!

Porcupinefish, also known as blowfish or pufferfish, are found in shallow temperate and tropical seas worldwide. They range in color from olive to brown, with a pale underside and dark spots over the entire body.

Porcupinefish inflate their body by swallowing water or air. They almost double in size to reduce the range of potential predators!

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!