What is the life span of a bull nose ray?
No one knows how long they live. Based on the life span of other rays, 20 years is a good guess.

What are the anemones in the cold water reef tank, and where did we get them?
The anemone with the fewer, stouter tentacles is the northern red anemone, Tealia felina. Coloring is variable and can be red, brown, white or yellow. The anemone with more, finer tentacles is the frilled anemone, Metridium senile, and it also comes in a variety of colors. There are large and small specimens of both anemones in the tank. The anemones most likely came from a bottom trawl in the Northern Atlantic taken by one of the NOAA research vessels.

How many eyes does a horseshoe crab have?
This may depend on what you mean by an "eye." The horseshoe crab has photoreceptor cells (light sensitive cells) in many places. If you call those collections of light sensitive cells "eyes," then horseshoe crabs have ten or more eyes. Two of the eyes are large compound eyes, similar to the eyes of insects and other arthropods. You can see the compound eyes on the top of the animal's shell.

What are the two holes near the mouth on the underside of the skate? They are nostrils. Skates use sense of smell to find food.

What is the life span of wolffish?
Approximately 20 years.

How do horseshoe crabs reproduce?
Male horseshoe crabs, which are significantly smaller than the females, use their boxing-glove shaped claws to latch onto the female's shell. The female crawls ashore, towing the male or males behind her. She digs a shallow hole and lays up to 80,000 eggs. She then drags the males over the hole, and they fertilize the eggs. Then the hole is covered and the crabs head back into the ocean.

What is Georges Bank?
Georges Bank is a shallow area of ocean that begins approximately 100 miles off Cape Cod. Georges Bank is almost the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. In places the water on the bank is less than 10 feet deep. Georges Bank was first described by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1525. Commercial fishermen and whalers began working on Georges Bank in the 1700s. Scientists began studying the bank in the 1850s.

What is the fish that appears to "walk" on its fins?
The sea robin

Why is the lobster blue? Lobsters may be blue for two reasons. Some lobsters are born blue due to a genetic mutation; others turn bluish due to deficiencies in their diet. The blue lobsters in the aquarium are genetic blues.

Why do the mackerels have bruised faces?
Some of the bruising may be from swimming into the glass. Some of it may be scar tissue from a supersaturation event – an excess of nitrogen in the water that caused bubbles under the skin.

Why do fish have whiskers?
Scientists call the whiskers "barbells." They are really taste buds that help the fish find prey in dark or murky waters.

How long can seals and turtles hold their breath?
The answer varies by species. Some seals can hold their breath for an hour or longer, and some sea turtles can sleep underwater for two hours or more. Active animals can not stay under that long because they are using more oxygen. Harbor seals usually do not dive any longer than three or four minutes, and sea turtles typically do not stay under for more than five to ten minutes.

How do fish, lobsters, horseshoe crabs, etc. go to the bathroom?
Nearly all marine animals have an excretory tract and an anus. Not all species of sea stars have an anus, however, those that do have it right next to their mouth and stomach.

Main FAQ Page

This FAQ sheet was compiled by the 2004 Woods Hole Science Aquarium summer interns: Paul Alvarenga, Elizabeth Benson, Christina Buford, Sarah Gillig, Lauren Henson, Alea Lester, Shaughnessy Rogers, Adam Stankiewicz

Thank-you to the fisheries biologists who provided answers: Paul Rago, Katherine Sosebee