Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin

The bottlenose dolphin is perhaps the most familiar of the sea mammals. Their gentle nature has endeared them in our hearts. These highly social animals have actually been known to rescue humans from danger. They are intelligent creatures with a brain size similar to ours. Some scientists believe they are capable of complex communication skills.

The Atlantic spotted dolphin looks very similar to the bottlenose dolphin except for the noticeable body spots. They are generally somewhat smaller than their cousins. As with all dolphins they travel in close family groups called pods.

The cushion star is a thick-bodied species of starfish with short legs. It ranges in color from brown to orange, red, and yellow. Its hard shell is covered with raised knobby spines. This starfish is grows to a diameter of 10 inches, and is found on the sandy bottoms in the Atlantic waters from South Carolina to Florida. Its hard shell makes it a popular species among shell collectors.

The loggerhead is a large reddish-brown turtle. They range in size from 33 to 40 inches in length. Loggerheads are the most common sea turtles found in the southeastern U.S. They feed on crabs, mollusks, and jellyfish. The biggest danger to this species is pollution and commercial fishing. Loggerheads nest in the spring, where an average female will lay between 100 and 125 eggs.

The queen angelfish is without a doubt the most beautiful of the angelfish species. Young queens resemble a juvenile blue angelfish. But as they grow, they acquire their spectacular blue and yellow markings, with rainbow colors on the edges of their fins. The queen angelfish is found throughout the western Atlantic. It is a grazer, feeding on algae, sponges, and coral.

Trunkfishes are members of the boxfish family. They get their name from their modified scales, which form a bony armor of plates that enclose their body. They can easily be identified by their triangular shape. The smooth trunkfish grows to about 12 inches in length, and is commonly found in the waters of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.