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Inside the Aquarium
Summer brings a bustle of activities in our tanks. Baby
shiner perch are born (live!), and many of our creatures
lay eggs. Even the smallest creatures get in on the act.
The opalescent nudibranch (NOOD-eh-brank), also
known as Hermissenda crassicornis (herma-SIN-duh
CRASS-uh-cornis) grows to only two inches, so it is easy
to miss in a tank. However, its amazing neon colors
make it a staff favorite. A few of the hermissenda laid
eggs in the tanks this summer, producing beautiful spiral
patterns along the back walls and along rocks. Many
snail-like mollusks lay eggs in a similar spiral pattern.
The spirals can look as plain as a random plant growth
or as intricate as a spiral of wavy ribbon.
If you see something unusual or interesting in one
of the tanks during your visit to the aquarium, ask
our interpreter for more information. There are great
stories in every tank!
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Unusual Sight: Swimsuits and Gray Whale Parts
The Marine Mammal Stranding Network had four extra helpers
this summer: Sayeeda, Makenzie, Brianna, and Courtney,
middle-schoolers from Beaverton and Scappoose, took time
from their day at the beach at Cape Disappointment to wash
gray whale baleen while Dr. Debbie Duffield and volunteers
performed a necropsy. Note the gloves. Marine Mammals can
carry diseases communicable to humans. These girls were
under close supervision of the Marine Mammal Stranding
Network.
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