On the Third or Adaptations Level, everyone finds a favorite spot to linger. It might be with the giant Pacific octopus, African mouth-brooding cichlids, the electric eel from the Amazon, clownfish hiding in anemones, or the rare living coral display with its giant clams, featherduster worms and pencil urchins. Visitors take a trip from the North Atlantic to the Pacific on the fourth level. Mammalogists train and feed seals daily. Wings in the Water Dozens of stingrays, a Hawksbill sea turtle and many small sharks can be seen from the surface or through the underwater viewing windows of this 260,000 gallon pool, home of the largest ray collection in the country.
Divers feed rays underwater, and offer narrations above water daily.
Mountains to the Sea Four exhibits depict Maryland habitats. The water cycle is traced from an Allegheny pond through a Tidal Marsh and Coastal Beach, out to the Continental shelf. Bullfrogs, diamondback terrapin and sea robins show the diversity of Maryland's aquatic life. In a darkened gallery with other-worldly ambience, seven species of jellyfish, from thumbtack size to saucer size, are highlighted. Visitors depart with a new appreciation for the beauty and fragility of these ocean drifters.