Our newest friends have arrived! We are so excited to finally launch our new friends, for the new year. These friends were chosen based on which one generated the highest number of likes on our social media pages, so we are excited to finally share them with you all, and they are available for purchase in youth AND adult size. Like our first fishy friends, they are uniquely designed to promote our mission of generating curiosity, creativity, and connection. We hope you love them just as much as we do!
Who is the Pufferfish?
The Pufferfish is a toxic little fellow, known for being one of the most poisonous vertebrates in the world! Their internal organs (and sometimes their skin) have what is known as tetrodotoxin (or also known as saxitoxin) which can be deadly when eaten. The only animal that is not affected by the Pufferfish’s poision are sharks. Pufferfish are slow swimmers, so to protect themselves from predators, they inflate into a balloon-like shape many times bigger than their normal size. They do this by inhaling a large amount of air and water. The pufferfish has long, tapered bodies, and bulbous heads. They range in size from 1 inch, to 2 feet. The most common Pufferfish found in Florida are the checkered, southern, northern, and bandtail puffer fish. They can all be distinguished by different patterns and colors. They are typically found in bays, seagrass beds, tidal creeks, mangrove swamps and can occasionally be found in freshwater areas. The Pufferfish prefer an omnivorous diet consisting of algae and some small invertebrates. They have four tooth plates arranged into quadrants with two teeth on top, and two on the bottom, making it possible for them to also eat clams and mussels.
Who is the Hammerhead Shark?
Hammerhead sharks are known for their flattened heads that extend laterally into the shape of a hammer. They are typically light gray with a greenish tint and white bellies. They have a large size range from around 2 feet to 19 feet and weight range about 6 pounds to 1200 pounds. Unlike most sharks, Hammerheads can be found swimming in schools during the day, and solitary hunters at night (meaning they swim alone). They are seen in warm tropical waters, but during the summer months, they participate in a mass migration to search for cooler waters. Hammerheads have a much smaller mouth compared to other sharks, and can be seen eating smaller fish, squid, octopus and crustaceans. They even like to prey on stingrays. When searching for food they like to swim on the bottom of the ocean floor and stalk their prey. They even use their heads as weapons.
Who is the Sheepshead?
The sheepshead is a funny little friend with teeth that look just like ours! They have a hard mouth with several rows of stubby teeth with the frontal ones resembling our own human teeth. With these teeth, they have a much easier time crushing the shells of their prey. Their prey typically consists of oysters, clams, molluscs, fiddler crabs and other crustaceans. They can be found living near rocky bottoms or places with obstructions, jetties, and the pilings of bridges and piers. Sheepsheads have a deep and compressed body with five or six dark strips or bars along with sharp dorsal spines. They usually grow to be around ten to twenty inches long and weigh around three to four pounds.
Marafiki wetu wapya wamewasili! Tunafurahi sana kuanzisha marafiki wetu wapya kwa mwaka mpya. "Wateja hawa walichaguliwa kulingana na ambayo moja ilizalisha idadi kubwa ya ""ipenda"" kwenye kurasa zetu za media ya kijamii, kwa hivyo tunafurahi kuishiriki na ninyi nyote, na zinapatikana kwa ununuzi katika ukubwa wa vijana na watu wazima." Kama marafiki wetu wa kwanza wa samaki, wamebuniwa kipekee ili kukuza utume wetu wa kuzalisha udadisi, ubunifu, na uhusiano. Tunatumaini kwamba utawapenda kama sisi! Ni nani yule Samaki-Puffer? Samaki anayeitwa pufferfish ni mnyama mdogo mwenye sumu, anayejulikana kuwa mmoja wa wanyama wenye uti wa mgongo wenye sumu zaidi ulimwenguni! Vipengele vya ndani vya wanyama hao (na wakati mwingine ngozi yao) vina tetrodotoxin (au saxitoxin) ambayo inaweza kuwa hatari sana inapokula. Mnyama pekee ambaye haathiriwi na sumu ya Pufferfish ni papa. Samaki aina ya pufferfish huogelea polepole, kwa hiyo ili kujilinda dhidi ya wanyama wanaowinda, hujipaza na kuwa na umbo la puto ambalo ni kubwa mara nyingi kuliko ukubwa wao wa kawaida. Wao hufanya hivyo kwa kupumua hewa na maji mengi. Samaki huyo ana mwili mrefu, wenye umbo la mviringo, na kichwa chenye umbo la mviringo. Ukubwa wao unatofautiana kutoka inchi moja hadi mita mbili. Samaki aina ya Pufferfish wanaopatikana kwa kawaida huko Florida ni samaki aina ya checkered, southern, northern, na bandtail pufferfish. Zote zinaweza kutofautishwa kwa mifumo na rangi tofauti-tofauti. Kwa kawaida hupatikana katika ghuba, nyasi za baharini, vijito vya mawimbi, mabwawa ya mangrove na mara kwa mara yanaweza kupatikana katika maeneo ya maji baridi. Samaki huyo hupendelea kula chakula cha mnyama anayekula kila kitu, yaani, mwani na wanyama wengine wadogo wasio na uti wa mgongo. Mnyama huyo ana meno manne yaliyojipanga katika pembe nne, mawili juu na mawili chini, na hivyo anaweza kula makapi na samaki. Je, ni nani Shark wa Hammerhead? Papa-mchwa-mchwa wanajulikana kwa sababu ya vichwa vyao vilivyo tambarare ambavyo huenea upande mmoja na kuwa na umbo la nyundo. Kwa kawaida wao ni wa rangi ya kijivu-kijivu na rangi ya kijani-kibichi na tumbo jeupe. Ina ukubwa wa mita 2 hadi mita 19 na uzito wa pauni 6 hadi pauni 1200. Tofauti na papa wengi, Hammerheads wanaweza kupatikana wakigonga katika makundi mchana, na wawindaji wa pekee usiku (kwa maana wao kuogelea peke yao). Wao huonekana katika maji ya kitropiki yenye joto, lakini wakati wa miezi ya kiangazi, wao huhamia kwa wingi ili kutafuta maji baridi zaidi. Hammerheads wana mdomo mdogo sana ikilinganishwa na papa wengine, na wanaweza kuonekana wakila samaki wadogo, squid, octopus na crustaceans. Hata hupenda kuwinda samaki aina ya stingray. Wanapotafuta chakula, wao hupenda kuogelea chini ya bahari na kumfuatilia mnyama wao. Hata hutumia vichwa vyao kama silaha. Ni nani aliye Mchungaji wa Kondoo? Mnyama huyo ni rafiki mdogo mwenye kuchekesha mwenye meno yanayofanana na yetu! Meno yao ni magumu na yana safu kadhaa za meno madogo, na yale ya mbele yanafanana na meno yetu ya kibinadamu. Kwa kutumia meno hayo, ni rahisi zaidi kwao kuvunja makundi ya mawindo yao. Kwa kawaida wao huwinda makapi, makapi, moluska, kamba-mti na wanyama wengine wa baharini. Wanaweza kupatikana wakiishi karibu na miamba au mahali penye vizuizi, vijia, na nguzo za madaraja na nguzo. Mnyama huyo ana mwili wenye kina kirefu na wenye mistari mitano au sita yenye rangi nyeusi pamoja na miiba mikali ya mgongo. Kwa kawaida hukua na kuwa na urefu wa sentimeta kumi hadi ishirini na uzito wa karibu pauni tatu hadi nne.