Bottom-dwelling Atlantic and southern stingrays are also among the current collection, with large roughtail rays, butterfly rays and a hawksbill sea turtle sharing space with small sharks. The rays are fed twice daily by volunteer divers, who first talk about ray habitat and the kinds of rays in the exhibit. To keep the divers from being accidentally poked by the spine of an excited ray, all spines are partially cut off before the animal goes on exhibit. While this living collection changes, below are common members of the group. The largest ray species on display, it can grow to seven feet and is dark brown in color.
Name derives from the rough or thorny tail.
The nurse shark in this exhibit can be identified by whisker-like barbels which are sensory and used for finding food. Sandbar shark About 2 feet These sleek sharks are smooth and gray in color, and the second dorsal fin is much smaller than the first. This ray is named for its indented head and two lobes. Cownose rays have a wide color range from almost white to dark brown. About 2 ft.