Pacific Pals Playground

This seabird is found in the northern Pacific Ocean. One iconic feature of this puffin is its beak. Leading up to May, the horned puffin’s beak will have refreshed its vibrant orange and yellow colors through a process called molting. Check out the Aquarium’s puffins and other diving birds in the Northern Pacific Gallery.

While adults have a gray and white colors, the juvenile stage of this fish is remarkably different. Juvenile dusky batfish are dark black with an orange line going around its edge and are found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. This fish adapted to mimic a poisonous flatworm species found in the same region. Check out the dusky batfish in the Babies! gallery.

This crab lives in the sand or mud in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to San Diego, California. When buried in the sand, the brown box crab tucks its legs and arms in to create an opening to allow water to pass over the gills. Check out the Aquarium’s armed box crab at the Deep Water habitat in the Northern Pacific Gallery.