Monterey Bay Habitat Animals

Common murre

It might be easy to mistake this bird for a penguin, with its white belly, dark head and wings, and upright posture. But common murres aren’t even related to penguins. Common murres are pelagic seabirds—they spend eight or nine months of each year continuously at sea. Those short wings are perfect for diving and “flying” under water.

White sturgeon

This prehistoric-looking fish with whiskers isn’t a shark, or a catfish. The white sturgeon is like no other fish! Instead of scales, five rows of bony plates (scutes) reach from its gills to its tail, covering its sandpaperlike skin. It also sports sharklike qualities including a cartilaginous skeleton and a sharklike tail.

Sevengill shark

Look for this big beefy shark sitting on the bottom of the exhibit, or cruising through the deep reef. As its name suggests, a sevengill shark has seven pairs of gill slits (most sharks have only five). Its back and sides are reddish brown to silvery gray, or olive-brown and speckled with many small black spots. The shark’s underbelly is cream colored. Other features include a wide head with a blunt nose and only one dorsal (top) fin—most sharks have two.

Halibut

If you see a rather odd-looking fish lying or swimming on its side in the Monterey Bay exhibit, you’re watching one of the flatfishes. If this flatfish has a large mouth and a lateral line that arches high over the side fin, it’s a California halibut. Notice that both eyes are on one side and pointed upward. This side of the fish is brown or blackish with light and dark splotches—the side without eyes is usually white.