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Dangerous Reef

Dive with creatures of the deep as you explore Ripley's reef on a moving glidepath, getting up close and personal with sharks, sawfish, and a green sea turtle!

What Will You Discover?

Travel underwater and feel like you're swimming right alongside thousands of fish spanning every shape and size — including long and winding moray eels, always-hungry giant tarpons, snappers, grunts, squirrelfish, stingrays, turtles, and some seriously large sharks!

Great Hammerhead Shark Great Hammerhead Shark

Great Hammerhead Shark

The great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) is the largest hammerhead species, reaching an average length of 13 feet (4 meters) long and weighing around 500 pounds (226 kilograms). These solitary giants are recognized by their unique, nearly straight hammer-shaped heads, which help them detect prey hidden in the sand.

Conservation Status

Critically Endangered

Range

Warm temperate and tropical seas worldwide

Habitat

Continental shelves, coral reefs, and deep waters

Diet

Invertebrates, bony fish, stingrays, and other sharks

Did You Know?

Hammerheads are known for their unique head shape, called a cephalofoil. There are currently nine different species of hammerhead sharks, and they can be differentiated by their size and the shape of their cephalofoils.

Blacktip Reef Shark Blacktip Reef Shark

Blacktip Reef Shark

The blacktip reef shark prefers shallow water coral reefs occupying a small home range where they spend most of their time. They are typically seen swimming back and forth along reef ledges, making occasional short forays onto sandy flats.

Conservation Status

Vulnerable

Range

Indo-Pacific region

Diet

Fish, cephalopods, crustaceans

Did You Know?

As an apex predator of the coral reef environment, the blacktip reef shark plays a vital ecological role by maintaining a healthy balance on the reef.

Sand Tiger Shark Sand Tiger Shark

Sand Tiger Shark

The sand tiger shark can be found at all levels in the water column. Where food is plentiful, these sharks may aggregate in groups of 80 or more strong!

Conservation Status

Critically Endangered

Diet

Fish, crustaceans, squid

Range

Worldwide in temperate waters; absent from eastern Pacific Ocean

Did You Know?

Sand tiger sharks are the only sharks known to maintain neutral buoyancy by gulping air at the water's surface and holding it in their stomach. This allows them to hover motionless in the water.

Whitetip Reef Shark Whitetip Reef Shark

Whitetip Reef Shark

The whitetip reef shark may be found resting in caves or under ledges during the day, sometimes even stacked up in piles with other whitetips! At night, this shark is a very active predator, rooting out small fish and other prey items hiding in the reef.

Conservation Status

Vulnerable

Habitat

Coral or rocky reefs

Diet

Fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, mollusks

Range

Eastern Pacific Ocean and Indo-Pacific region

Did You Know?

Contrary to popular belief, not all sharks need to stay moving to survive. Whitetip reef sharks take gulps of water in their mouth and force it out though the gills. This process, called “buccal pumping” is used by some shark species to allow them to continue to respirate while at rest.

Atlantic Nurse Shark Atlantic Nurse Shark

Atlantic Nurse Shark

The nurse shark is a nocturnal hunter that rests on sandy bottoms or in caves and rock crevices during the day, generally found around coral reefs, grass flats or mangrove islands. They typically return to the same resting places day after day.

Conservation Status

Vulnerable

Diet

Fish, mollusks, crustaceans

Range

Tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean

Did You Know?

Nurse sharks are suction feeders capable of generating suction forces that are among the highest recorded for any aquatic vertebrate to date.

Largetooth Sawfish Largetooth Sawfish

Largetooth Sawfish

The largetooth sawfish is one of five species of sawfishes. Although sawfishes have shark-like bodies, they are actually a type of ray. They are named after their "saws" (rostra)—long, flat snouts edged with teeth. The largetooth sawfish has the largest historical range of all sawfish species, but its populations have dramatically declined worldwide.

Size

Up to 23 feet

Conservation Status

Critically Endangered

Diet

Fish, molluscs and crustaceans

Range

Circumglobal in tropical and subtropical waters, including estuaries and rivers

Did You Know?

Their rostra contain electro-sensory organs, which can sense the weak amount of electricity produced by other animals. These organs help sawfish identify when prey is nearby.

Sergeant Major Sergeant Major

Sergeant Major

The sergeant major is commonly observed forming large feeding aggregations of up to a few hundred individuals.

Size

Up to 9 inches

Habitat

Coral reefs, seagrass beds

Diet

Zooplankton, algae, crustaceans, fish

Range

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea

Did You Know?

After a courtship ritual, the male sergeant major will build a nest which he will fiercely defend against all intruders, even scuba divers that get too close!

Green Turtle Green Turtle

Green Turtle

The green turtle is commonly found near the coastline, living in bays and protected shores, especially in areas with seagrass beds and coral reefs. Juveniles are carnivorous, often eating worms, crustaceans, and aquatic insects, while adults are essentially herbivorous.

Conservation Status

Endangered

Diet

Algae, seagrass

Range

Worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters

Did You Know?

Juveniles are known to spend several years drifting in the open ocean as they grow and mature. Once matured, they will return to the beach where they were born to mate.

Green Moray Green Moray

Green Moray

During the day, the green moray can often be found poking out of a rock cave on a coral reef, preferring to hunt at night. Though the gaping teeth-filled mouth of this fish may seem intimidating to a scuba diver, they are actually just pumping water across their gills, essentially the act of breathing.

Size

Up to 98 inches

Diet

Fish, crustaceans, cephalopods

Range

Western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea

Did You Know?

Although they appear green, moray eels have brownish or grey skin covered with a layer of yellow mucus, which results in their green appearance.

Blue Tang Blue Tang

Blue Tang

The beautiful blue tang may be found alone, protecting and tending a small reef territory, or in peaceful groups, foraging the reef for algae.

Habitat

Coral reefs

Diet

Algae, plankton

Size

Up to 15 inches

Range

Western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea

Did You Know?

Juvenile blue tang are actually yellow, slowly changing to blue as they grow. When viewed under ultraviolet light, they actually appear neon green due to a process called biofluorescence, which may be used to signal members of their own species.

Bermuda Chub Bermuda Chub

Bermuda Chub

The Bermuda chub forms large schools on shallow reefs, often feeding on plankton near the surface. They can also be found over algal reefs, seagrass beds, and reef flats. Juveniles, which often shelter among floating Sargassum seaweeds, can disperse across vast distances.

Size

Up to 30 inches

Range

Worldwide in tropical waters

Diet

Algae, crustaceans, mollusks, plankton

Did You Know?

Bermuda chub have been documented to feed on the feces and vomit of spinner dolphins in the southeast Atlantic. They're not picky eaters to say the least.

Atlantic Tarpon Atlantic Tarpon

Atlantic Tarpon

Atlantic tarpon are often found near coral reefs but also live in bays and mangrove lagoons, sometimes traveling up rivers into freshwater. Tarpon can actually breathe air by gulping from the surface; the air enters their swim bladder, which acts as a primitive lung, allowing them to tolerate low oxygen environments.

Size

Up to 98 inches

Diet

Fish, crustaceans

Range

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea

Did You Know?

Tarpon are one of the oldest living fishes, with fossils dating back over 130 million years.

Atlantic Spadefish Atlantic Spadefish

Atlantic Spadefish

Atlantic spadefish are found schooling near coastal reefs, wrecks, mangroves and pilings, which helps protect them from predators. If upright on their tail, their overall body shape reflects the spade found within a typical deck of playing cards, thus the common name spadefish.

Size

Up to 36 inches

Diet

Crustaceans, mollusks, worms, plankton

Range

Western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea

Did You Know?

Juveniles will mimic the look and behavior of a dead leaf, drifting in shallow water to fool predators.

Zebra Shark Zebra Shark

Zebra Shark

The zebra shark is a beautiful species often seen lazily resting on the bottom under ledges of the reef during the day, preferring to forage the reef at night by sucking up prey with powerful jaw muscles.

Conservation Status

Endangered

Range

Indo-Pacific region

Diet

Fish, crustaceans mollusks

Did You Know?

When zebra sharks are young, their bodies are dark with yellowish stripes. As they grow, their stripes begin to transform into small, dark spots.

Ocean Surgeon Ocean Surgeon

Ocean Surgeon

Ocean surgeonfish can usually be found in groups picking algae on the reef. They are often confused with doctorfish, however, unlike ocean surgeonfish, doctorfish have 10-12 vertical bars on their sides.

Diet

Algae

Habitat

Coral reefs

Size

Up to 14 inches

Range

Western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea

Did You Know?

These fish have a gizzard-like organ in their intestines that contains hard, abrasive particles, such as sand and coral debris. These particles help to grind up the tough algae that the surgeonfish eat.

Blue Runner Blue Runner

Blue Runner

Blue runner can be found inshore around coral reefs or under floating seaweed as juveniles, then moving offshore to lead largely pelagic lives as adults.

Size

Up to 20 inches

Diet

Fish, crustaceans, zooplankton

Habitat

Coral reefs, wrecks, open water

Range

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea

Did You Know?

Named for their iridescent blue and green colors, which can change depending on the light and their surroundings.

Green Sawfish Green Sawfish

Green Sawfish

The green sawfish (Pristis zijsron) is part of the elasmobranch group, which includes rays, skates, and sharks. It’s the largest sawfish species, with its saw-like snout, or rostrum, making up nearly one-third of its total length!

Diet

Fish and crustaceans

Conservation Status

Critically Endangered

Size

Up to 24 feet (7.3 meters) in length

Range

From South Africa to northern Australia

Did You Know?

Green sawfish can live for up to 50 years!

Habitat

Typically in mangrove and estuarine habitats, prefer an ocean bottom consisting of mud, silt or sand

What's Inside

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What's Inside

Exhibits Nearby

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