Whale Shark
The world's largest living fish, whale sharks roam the world's temperate and tropical oceans, including some parts of the Gulf of Mexico. The distinctively spotted sharks grow up to 60 feet long with a gaping mouth that opens up to 5 feet wide. They open it wide and suck up algae, plankton and krill, more technically known as filter feeding. "Whale sharks are fairly regular visitors at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary each year," says the sanctuary's Education Specialist Kelly Drinnen, "most often during the months of July, August and September." Sanctuary biologists are engaged in a study to identify individuals by their spot patterns and are using acoustic receivers to determine how often they visit each of the three banks of the Flower Garden Sanctuary. Divers can safely swim with giant and awe-inspiring whale sharks.
Australian Jellyfish
These clear roundish Australian natives recently were introduced into the Gulf of Mexico, probably by traveling in a ship's ballast. Their sting is not dangerous to humans, but the non-natives may wreak havoc on the delicate Gulf of Mexico marine ecosystem. Not only do they muck up commercial trawl nets, the jellyfish also have voracious appetites for eggs and larvae of fish and shrimp and other commercially important species. When a species gets introduced into a non-native habitat, they often lack predators and competitors, and their populations can grow unchecked. In Australia, these jellyfish grow only to the size of a baseball, but in the Gulf of Mexico they grow to the size of a dinner plate! And in the Gulf of Mexico, their population is rapidly expanding.
North Atlantic Right Whale
Right whales do not normally visit the Gulf of Mexico, but in December 2005, a tanker pilot spotted a North Atlantic right whale and her calf in Corpus Christi Bay - the westernmost sighting in history. Fewer than 400 of these critically endangered marine mammals remain, with their primary habitat off North America's eastern shore. Scientists have a photographic catalog of right whales, from which they use skin patterns on each whale's head and scars to fingerprint individuals. Scientists identified this 11-year-old first-time mother as "Boomerang," and scientists spotted it the following summer in feeding grounds in the Bay of Fundy, off Nova Scotia. Turns out, in 2004 another right whale with a calf had been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico, the first two sightings here since a 1972 stranding in Freeport.
Mardi Gras Wrasse
Scientists recently discovered a colorful new species of fish at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. The 2- to 4-inch fish flit about coral reefs, and typical of wrasses, they have two distinct color phases. Males and females alike start life with a reddish color and a white stripe down their side. When they grow large enough, they undergo a change as remarkable as Clark Kent changing into Superman. If they're male they transmogrify into a brilliant purple, yellow and blue-green. And females transform into males and take on the same brilliant colors. First seen in 1997, it took a decade before biologists catalogued and published the new species account in 2007.
Manatee
Regularly found in the warmer nearshore areas around the Florida panhandle, endangered Florida manatees rarely stray into Texas waters. But in 2007, the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network responded to calls of a manatee in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, where he'd been attracted to the warm water outflow from a refinery. The network transported "Tex" to Lowry Park in Florida, where biologists are rehabilitating the vegetation-munching marine mammal, with hopes to release him back into the wild.
Pygmy Sperm Whale
One of the world's smallest whales, this dolphin-sized species ranges in warm marine waters throughout the world. The Japanese call them "floating whales" because they rise slowly and stay at the surface for long periods of time, rather than rising quickly and blowing air like most whales. Their large, melon-shaped heads contain a spermaceti organ that whalers once harvested from their cousins, giant sperm whales. The spermaceti contains oil that was sold for use in candles and cosmetics. Scientists don't know the purpose of the organ, although recent studies suggest the spermaceti gives sperm whale males extra padding in head-butting contests to win females. Scientists know virtually nothing about the species in the wild or their population status in the Gulf of Mexico or worldwide, other than a few strandings that have occurred. In 2005, a pygmy sperm whale and her calf stranded alive on the Bolivar peninsula. Rescuers pushed both back into the water; the mother disappeared, but the calf stranded again.
False Killer Whale
One of the largest members of the dolphin family, false killer whales grow about four times the size of a bottlenose dolphin. Like their killer whale (orca) relatives, they also attack and kill other cetaceans, but unlike the striking black-and-white coloration of orcas, false killer whales are all gray. They range throughout the world's warm temperate and tropical oceans in pods of 10 to 50 animals. Much of their natural history remains unknown. One false killer whale stranded in Texas in 1996 and another in Alabama in 1999. Around 1,000 live in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are not considered endangered, but are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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