Gulf Specimen Marine Lab Presents "Monsters of the Deep" 

Gulf Specimen Marine Lab is proud to announce the opening of our newest exhibit “Monsters of the Deep.”  This exhibit takes you on a journey to the deepest parts of Florida’s waters.  From barnacles to sharks and sawfish to squids, children and adults alike will be able to allow their imagination and fascination with the Monsters of the Deep to run wild.

However, the strangest of all is the preserved, giant isopod, or sea roach that was dragged up from the edge of the continental shelf.  In 1975, Jack Rudloe, President of the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, working with the New York Aquarium, put together an expedition, chartering a ninty-foot royal red shrimp boat to drag the deep and icy sea floor where the giant sea roaches live.  Although a number of aquariums now display Bathynonus giganteous, the New York Aquarium was the first to keep them on display for nine months.

Gulf Specimen is changing the way preserved specimens are being presented.  These creatures are eerily displayed in turnable, back-lit jars for your 360 degree viewing pleasure and give us a close up view of these monsters of the deep.  Although they have been dead for over thirty years, some people say the animals look as if they were still alive.  “This is just a prototype,” said Rudloe, “we are looking for funds to start a whole new ‘pickle-arium’ that, when combined with videos and surround sound, will pack the rolling ocean and the deep sea into a small space where everyone can see the wonders they produce.”

This information originally published on April 8, 2007.

Written by :

Jack Rudloe

 

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