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Fishing for Aquarium fun facts
- The arapaima in the Amazon Flooded Forest exhibit has
grown from just 12 inches to more than six feet.
- Alligator snapping turtles grow very slowly after reaching
adulthood. The large male alligator snapping turtle in the
Delta Country gallery weighs 160 pounds, and could be more
than a century old.
- Weighing in at more than 100 pounds, the big blue catfish
in the Nickajack Lake exhibit are among the largest catfish
on exhibit in the United States.
- Gentoo penguins are the third largest penguin species
in the world. (Emperor penguins are the largest, followed
by king and then gentoo.)
- Macaroni penguins are the largest members of the crested
penguin species.
- Birds and amphibians at the Tennessee Aquarium eat nearly
300,000 worms and mealworms each year.
- Fish in the Tennessee Aquarium eat more than 1,200 pounds
of restaurant-quality
seafood, 336 heads of romaine lettuce and 168 bunches of
broccoli each month.
- Red piranhas, despite their sharp teeth, are relatively
timid and rarely bite humans.
- Sharks never run out of teeth. When the front teeth become
worn or break off, new ones replace them. During its lifetime,
a shark will produce thousands of teeth.
- Sharks
have the same five senses as people, but they also have
a sixth sense that allows them to detect weak electrical
signals generated by their prey.
- Green moray eels are actually blue, but their yellow slime
layer makes them appear green.
- Snakes do not have external ears, but an internal ear allows
them to pick up vibrations in the ground through the lower
jaw.
- A snake's forked tongue picks up molecules in the air that
give it a sense of smell.
- Amphibians not only have the five basic senses - touch, taste,
sight, hearing and smell - but they can also detect ultraviolet
and infrared light in the earth's magnetic field.
- Frogs are by far the largest and most flourishing group of
modern amphibians and are found on each continent, except Antarctica.
- The sex of many reptiles - lizards, turtles and crocodilians
- is determined by the incubation temperature of their eggs.
- The age of some turtles can be determined by counting the
growth rings on the plates of their shell like counting the
rings of a tree.
- The male
arawana – a large Amazonian fish – will
carry his young in his mouth until they are large enough to
fend for themselves.
- Sturgeon
have pharyngeal teeth in their throats that are used to "chew" their
food.
- Despite
the rock-like or plant-like appearance of corals, they are
animals – tiny
creatures that live together in large colonies.
- Although bamboo sharks breathe oxygen in the water through
their gills, the brown-banded bamboo shark has been known to
survive up to 12 hours out of the water.
- White-spotted bamboo sharks are regularly consumed by humans
and used in Chinese medicine.
- Octopi are considered the most intelligent of all the invertebrates.
Although they are shy, they are also curious and explore their
environments.
- An octopus has the ability to change colors, which helps
the octopus hide or hunt or reflects its mood.
- A cuttlefish can change the texture of its skin, raising
or lowering it to help the animal blend in with rocks or coral.
- To protect itself from predators, the giant spider crab uses
its bumpy carapace to blend into the rocky ocean floor, or
it will adorn its shell with sponges and other animals.
- There are nearly 265,000 species of butterflies and moths
in the world.
- Butterflies eat nectar from the blooming flowers in the sunlit
garden, artificial nectar and fruit.
- Seahorses are the only fish with prehensile tails that are
designed to grasp or hold. They use their tails to hold onto
objects-like sea grass, coral or each other.
- The bony plates on seahorses provide protection from predators
and in some species, make the body semi-rigid. Because of this,
seahorses don't move their bodies in a wavelike fashion as
most fish do, but glide gracefully by fanning their delicate
fins.
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The Tennessee
Aquarium inspires wonder and appreciation for the natural
world. Admission is $19.95 per adult and $12.95 per child,
ages 3-12. Each ticket purchased helps support Aquarium conservation
programs. The IMAX® 3D Theater is next door
to the Aquarium. Ticket prices are $7.95 per adult and $5.50
per child. Aquarium/IMAX combo tickets are $24.95 for adults
and $16.95 for children. Advance tickets may be purchased online
at www.tnaqua.org or by phone at 1-800-262-0695. The Aquarium,
located on the banks of the Tennessee River in Chattanooga,
is a non-profit organization. Open every day except Thanksgiving
and Christmas, the Aquarium and IMAX are accessible to people
with disabilities. Members enjoy unlimited visits and other
benefits. Call 267-FISH to join.
ONLINE
press kits & downloadable images: http://www.tnaqua.org/Newsroom/Newsroom.asp
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