NEWS & ANOUNCEMENTS

DEC

19

ENTER TO WIN!

ENSIGN MEMBERSHIP

ENSIGN MEMBERSHIP

FOR THE

ATLANTIC CITY AQUARIUM 

Membership Includes:

One year admission for family of four, 2 adults, 2 children (under 18)

*4 Guest admission passes

15% discount on gift shop purchases

Free admission to special events and lectures

Your name engraved on our Ship’s Log located in the entrance of the Aquarium

$150.00 VALUE

Print and complete the entry form below and present to the Atlantic City Aquarium cashier between Friday, December 26 and Wednesday, December 31, 2008 to be eligible to win.

DEC

12

Giant New Iguana Debuts

The new iguana will be featured in the exotic animal shows. 

The two species of lizard within the genus Iguana possess a dewlap, a row of spines running down their back to their tail, and a third eye on their head. This eye is known as the parietal eye, which looks just like a pale scale on the top of their head. Behind their neck are small scales which resemble spikes, known as tuberculate scales. They also have a large round scale on their cheek known as a subtympanic shield.

DEC

02

DECEMBER

HOLIDAY WEEK of EVENTS

AT THE

ATLANTIC CITY AQUARIUM

Friday, December 26 through

 Wednesday December 31, 2008

11:00 AM   - LIVE DIVER FEEDING SHOW

Featuring the aquarium’s diver in the 25,000 gallon “Fish of the Mid-Atlantic” tank. Guests can watch and interact with the diver as she hand-feeds cownose rays, swims with nurse sharks, and dives with dogfish in the tank. Participants also have the opportunity to interact with the diver asking questions during the show. This underwater picnic is included with paid admission to the aquarium. The feeding show lasts approximately 20 minutes with a question and answer session afterward.

12:00 PM AND 3:00 PM – SHARK & RAY TOUCH TANK FEEDINGS

Not only can visitors see the shovel nose sharks and stingrays swim around in their  home, our Shark and Ray Touch Tank,  but they also have the opportunity to participate in this feeding frenzy by purchasing a $2.00 bag of special food and joining in the fun of feeding the stingrays and shovel nose sharks.

2:00 PM – EXOTIC ANIMAL SHOW

Visitors get up close to the aquarium’s more unusual inhabitants, ranging from the largest species of scorpion in the world to the softest furred mammal in the world.    Aquarium  handlers discuss their native habitats, their suitability as pets, natural defenses and predatory instincts other interesting facts.  Throughout the interactive show, visitors will have the opportunity to ask questions and, in some cases, touch many of the animals.

Admission: Adults:  $7, children ages 4-12:  $4, children under three are free and seniors pay $5.  For more information on the other Atlantic City Aquarium programs and exhibits, visit www.acaquarium.com or call 609 348-2880.

HOPE TO SEE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS

FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT THE

ATLANTIC CITY AQUARIUM

*Show subject to cancellation without advance notice.

OCT

30

Dive into the Aquarium Click to watch Video

          Atlantic City Aquarium” Weekends this Winter The Atlantic City Aquarium is offering our Live Diver Feeding Show on Saturday’s and Sunday’s at 11:00 AM throughout the winter    “Dive and Dine” features the aquarium’s diver in the 25,000 gallon “Fish of the Mid-Atlantic” tank. Audiences can watch and interact with the diver as she hand-feeds cownose rays, swims with nurse sharks, and dives with dogfish in the tank. Participants also have the opportunity to interact with the diver asking questions during the show. This underwater picnic is included with paid admission to the aquarium. The feeding show lasts approximately 20 minutes with a question and answer session afterward.   While visiting the aquarium be sure to stay around for the Shark & Ray feedings at our second floor shark and ray touch tank.  Feedings daily at 12 and 3pm and our Exotic animal show at 2:00 pm (Saturday’s & Sunday’s only).   Don’t forget the aquarium is the perfect place to host your next birthday party, holiday party or special event.  Call 609-348-2880 ext. 17 for more information. Admission: Adults:  $7, children ages 4-12:  $4, children under three are free and seniors pay $5.  For more information on the other Atlantic City Aquarium programs and exhibits, visit www.acaquarium.com or call 609 348-2880.   HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE ATLANTIC CITY AQUARIUM SOON! *Show subject to cancellation without advance notice.  

OCT

15

SUPER WEEKENDS

Every Saturday and Sunday...

11:00 am - Live Dive Show

12:00 and 3:00 pm – Feeding of shark and rays at touch tank

2:00 pm – Live exotic animal show

OCT

12

BAT RAYS AND SHOVEL NOSE SHARKS

Check Out the Newest Arrivals to the Shark and Stingray Touch tank

At the Atlantic City Aquarium

The tank is open all day from 10 until 5pm and feedings are at noon and three pm daily.

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The Shovelnose Guitarfish is a guitar-shaped ray with a broad disc that is greater in length than width; a relatively smooth dorsal surface except for a single row of thorns around the eyes and extending along the back and tail; a long, pointed snout with a rounded tip; small, rounded, pebble-like teeth; a first dorsal fin that originates closer to the pelvic fin base than to the caudal fin origin; a thick tail; and a moderately large caudal fin without a distinct lower lobe. The color ranges from an olive to sandy brown above, but without prominent dark bars across the back, and white below.

HABITAT AND RANGE: Shovelnose Guitarfishes are a shallow-water species commonly found at a depth of 1 to 13 m, although they may be found at depths down to 91 m. They usually lie partially buried on sandy or mud bottoms but occasionally are observed in sea grass beds. These rays will at times congregate in large numbers in shallow bays and estuaries. The Shovelnose Guitarfish is endemic to the eastern Pacific, ranging from San Francisco southward at least to the Gulf of California, and possibly to Mazatlan, Mexico.

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Bat rays swim gracefully by flapping their batlike wings (pectoral fins) bird style—a feature that gives these rays their common name and their family name, “eagle rays.” They are found in muddy and sandy bottom bays, kelp forests and close to coral reefs.

Those batlike wings also serve in the hunt for food. Bat rays flap their pectoral fins in the sand to expose buried prey, like clams. Rays also use their lobelike snouts to dig prey from sandy bottoms. The resulting pit can be up to 13 feet (4 m) long and eight inches (20 cm) deep—an important source of “leftover” small prey for fishes that can’t dig. Bat rays have one to three venomous barbed spines at the base of their long tails, but these docile animals sting only to defend themselves.

Bat ray teeth are fused into plates that can crush the strongest clam shells. The rays crush the entire clam, or other mollusks, inside their mouths, spit out the shells, and then eat the soft, fleshy parts. If a tooth breaks or wears out, a new one replaces it. Rays grow new teeth continuously, like their shark kin.

JUL

01

NEW TROPICAL RAINFOREST EXHIBIT

The Rainforest display includes multiple sections depicting different enviornments and animals.  An abandoned shack within a section of rainforest features animals found in rainforests around the world.  There is a pond that holds a Matamata Turtle and various cichlids, a group of fishes commonly found in rainforest regions. The two touch tanks contain freshwater rays native to the Amazon, while the other has Amazonian Prawn.  The last two sections of the display feature a variety of small rainforest creatures, including poison dart frogs.