Field Guide
Learn about the elsamobranchs (cartilaginous fish) and teleosts (bony fish) that call the reef lagoon home.
Scheduled Feedings
Meet the biologists of the Steinhart Aquarium who care for the sharks and rays and discover some of the fact behind the fiction. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30pm at the Reef Lagoon.
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Blacktip reef shark
Carcharhinus melanopterus
- Status:
- Near threatened
- Diet:
- Small bony fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans
- Reproduction:
- Viviparous
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Cownose ray
Rhinoptera javanica
- Status:
- Near threatened
- Diet:
- Clams, oysters and other invertebrates
- Reproduction:
- Ovoviviparous
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Honeycomb ray
Himantura uarnak
- Status:
- Vulnerable
- Diet:
- Crabs, shrimps, bivalves, gastropods, worms, jellyfish and bony fishes
- Reproduction:
- Ovoviviparous
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Blue-spot stingray
Dasyatis kuhlii
- Status:
- Data deficient
- Diet:
- Crabs, shrimps and possibly other small prey
- Reproduction:
- Ovoviviparous
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Mono
Monodactylus argenteus
- Diet:
- Plankton and detritus
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Bamboo shark
Chiloscyllium punctatum
- Status:
- Near threatened
- Diet:
- Shrimps, scallops, squid and marine fish
- Reproduction:
- Oviparous
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Longnose butterfly fish
Forcipiger flavissimus
- Diet:
- Wide variety of animal prey, prefers tube feet of echinoderms, pedicilaria of sea urchins and polychaete tentacles
- Reproduction:
- Oviparous
- Notes:
- Monogamous
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Raccoon Butterfly fish
Chaetodon lunula
- Diet:
- Adults feed on nudibranchs, tubeworm tentacles, other benthic invertebrates; also algae and coral polyps
- Reproduction:
- Oviparous
Make a Donation
Please consider making a donation to help the Academy in its mission to explore, explain and protect the natural world.
Shark Resources
Live on Twitter |
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Share your thoughts on sharks, rays, etc. by tweeting with #sharkcam!
Live Webcams |
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Dive into the colony
Watch African penguins swim, waddle and glide.
Pocket Penguins for Android & iPhone
Get a live view of our African penguin exhibit anywhere, anytime with Pocket Penguins. Now available for Android smartphones and iPhone!
AB 376 |
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Assembly Bill 376, passed 10/7/11, makes it unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute a shark fin in California - thereby helping to sustain healthy oceans.
Academy Scientists and others explain the severity of shark-finning and what is being done to fight back. Watch the video on Wired.com.
Thank you to Tuatara Systems for their imaging assistance.
