Water Planet

The Water Planet exhibit's blue glow creates a beautiful place for exploring watery adaptations.
Explore the dramatic connections between water and life in a luminous gallery of jellies, pythons, pipefish, seahorses, lumpsuckers, and other remarkably adapted animals.

Water Planet features an ever-changing cast of fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and more—all organized by adaptations to water. Seven clusters of tanks highlight animals that have evolved fascinating methods of feeding, movement, reproduction, defense, sensing their surroundings, surviving in deserts, and living both in and out of water.

Baby sunflower sea stars, or Pycnopodia, are added to an exhibit at Steinhart Aquarium

Rays of hope

Critically endangered sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) are now on exhibit in Water Planet! We're excited to watch them grow up—and we continue to work with partners across California to bring Pycnopodia back from the brink.

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Methuselah the Australian lungfish on exhibit at the Academy

Dining in

Methuselah, the Academy's beloved Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri), is the oldest living fish in human care on Earth. Special receptors around her mouth help her find hidden prey—but she prefers to be hand-fed figs. 

Meet Methuselah
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Two Pacific spiny lumpsuckers on exhibit at the Academy

Getting around

In the movement cluster, Pacific spiny lumpsuckers (Eumictrotremus orbis) use a suction-cup-like structure to stick to underwater surfaces.

Meet our lumpsuckers
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Black and white Luristan newt on exhibit at the Academy

Going to extremes

The Luristan newt (Neurergus kaiseri) is a water conservation expert, remaining as inactive as possible during Iran's dry season. The brief rainy season prompts these amphibians to rush to the nearest stream to mate.

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Tank of moon jellyfish on exhibit at the Academy

Salty seas

Columns of ethereally drifting moon jellies (Aurelia aurita) reveal surprising ideas about how salinity affects movement. 

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More to explore

Methuselah the Australian lungfish in her habitat at the California Academy of Sciences
Methuselah (Our Australian Lungfish)

Methuselah is the Academy's beloved Australian lungfish—and the oldest living fish in human care on Earth.

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Giant Pacific octopus in Steinhart Aquarium glares menacingly at the camera from between its tentacles. Photo by Kathryn Whitney
Our Gothest Animals
If you skew more Ursula than Ariel, you’ve swum to the right post. Meet 8 Academy misfits who embody Halloween.
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Red-crested turaco bird on exhibit in Osher Rainforest at Cal Academy spreads its bright red and green wings
What's New in the AQ?
Five new species on exhibit, each with their own superpower. Meet the supergroup you didn't know you needed.
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Anableps anableps, or four-eyed-fish, against a white background
Creature Closeups

Get to know some of the more than 1,000 species on exhibit—or behind the scenes—at the Academy.

African Hall Educator Guide
Educator Exhibit Guides

Find detailed educator guides that will help you link our exhibits to your curriculum.