Stephanlepis hispidus
Size: to 10"
Habitat: wherever the current takes them
Notes: Baby Filefishes of 2"-3" may be found drifting along with clumps of Sargassum weed. They are also found inshore.
Filefish are similar to triggerfish but have only two spines in the "trigger", rather than three. I kept a filefish in an aquarium for a long time. It was a fascinating pet until it outgrew its quarters, and I had to give it away. They are quite intelligent ( for a fish. )
Phoca vitulina
by Larry Sarner
Wild seals conjure up images of northern or even Arctic climates. But few people know that more than a hundred harbor seals call New Jersey home during the winter months, coming ashore into isolated estuaries and even upstream into a few rivers.
New Jersey is near the southern limits of the range for harbor seals on the East Coast. However, these seals are frequent visitors offshore in winter and even have been reported as far south as the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and off the coast of North Carolina. The winter seal-sighting season runs from December through March. Seals generally leave the New Jersey coast by the second week in April, probably responding to rising air and water temperatures and the increase in human activity.
More: Harbor Seal ...
