Lobster Homarus gammarus

Ballan Wrasse Labrus bergylta

Bass Dicentarchus labrax & Mullet Chelon labrosus.

Bluefaced Angelfish Euxiphipops xanthometapon.

Cleaner Shrimps Lysmata amboinensis.

Clown Surgeon Acanthurus lineatus

Copperband Butterfly Chelmon rostratus.

Corkwing Wrasse Crenilabrus melops

Cowfish Lactoria cornuta

Dogfish egg cases "mermaids purses".

Ghost EEl Uropterygius concolor

Longnosed Hawkfish Oxycirrhitus typhus

The Lionfish Pterois volitans

Mandarin Fish Pterosynchiropis splendidus

Prawn Palaemon serratus

Young Undulate Ray Raja undulata.

Red Knobbed Starfish Protoreaster linckii

Sea Scorpion Taurulus bubalis.

Seahorses Hippocampus sp.

Shore Crab Carcinus maenas

Snake Pipefish Entelurus aequoreus

Spiny Spider Crab Maia squinado

Spider crab

Common Starfish Asterias rubens.

Strawberry Anemones Actinea fragacea & Snakelocks Anemones Anemonia viridis

The Sunstar Crossaster papposus

The Topknot Zeugopterus punctatus

The Lesser Weever Echiichthys vipera

This individual is a very unusual cour mutation - most of the shell is bright blue, but half of the carapace (back) is almost white.

Local Section. Our largest local wrasse. Very variable in colour all young fish are female, a few of the older individuals eventually turn into males!

Local Section. Strong swimmers Bass are the most sought after local species by commercial fishermen & anglers. Mullet are the large fish often seen swimming underneath the boats in the local harbour.

Tropical reef Section. As in many other angelfish the adults have a completely different colour pattern to the young.

Tropical Reef Section. Every few days fish on the reefs visit the cleaners to have their parasites removed.

Tropical reef section. Like other Surgeonfish the Clown Surgeon is armed with razor sharp spines either side of the tail. These can be used for defence or to drive rivals away from an individuals territory.

Tropical Reef Section. The long thin heads of butterflyfish enable them to reach into tiny crevices for food. Like many real butterflys they have a fase eye on the tail to misdirect predators.

Local section. A small but often colourful wrasse often common in shallow water around the Isle of Wight.

Tropical reef section. A species of boxfish - the scales are fused into a very strong rigid "shell", sacrificing speed and manoeverability for protection.

Local section. The young shark can be seen developing inside its egg throughout the summer.

Tropical Reef section. The ribbon thin body can reach over a metre in length, winding around the reefs rocks, normally only the head and a few centimetres of the body are seen.

Tropical Reef section. Spends most of its day waiting on the top of coral heads for food to drift near.

Tropical Reef Section. A member of the scorpionfish family the Lionfish is armed with very poisonous spines to deter predators.

Tropical Reef Section. A secretive fish once spotted it reveals itself to be one of the most beautifully patterned of all fish.

Local section. Surprisingly entertaining to watch our local prawns are often semi transparent - they go red hen cooked. An important link in marine food chains.

Local section. Newly hatched from a mermaids purse.

Tropical Reef Section. One of the most brightly coloured invertebrates. Like other starfish if a arm is trapped it can be discaded and another grown in its place.

Native Section. Often found in local rock pools, it looks similarly menacing to tropical Scorpionfish but, luckily, lacks their poisonous spines.

Tropical reef section. Perhaps the most improbably shaped fish. Its lifestyle is even more bizarre - the males carry the eggs and eventually give birth.

Local Section. A important scavenger this is the crab most often found on the seashore.

Local section Like in their relatives the seahorses it is the male pipefish who give birth.

Local section. Large individuals are extremely impressive. A very and increasingly common local crab.

Local section. Many small species of spider crab "decorate" their shells with seaweed, perfect camouflage in their normal habitat.

Local section. Feeds by pulling at bivalve shells till they open slightly then extruding its stomach between the shell halves, digesting its food outside its own body - YUCH!

If one of its arms is trapped it breaks off and a new one grows.

Local section. Both of these anemones are common in local rock pools, waiting to snare small swimming animals.

Local section. Not all starfish have 5 arms! They sometimes "lose" one and then regenerate and some like the sunstar have more.

Local section. An unusual flatfish in that it normally lives on the side of rocks or even on the underside of overhangs. In the Aquarium often lies with its belly against the front glass.

Local section. Doubly unfortunate, the Weever possesses poisonous spines and lives in shallow water buried in sand off the most popular tourist beaches.