Newport Aquarium opens new octopus and deep-sea creatures exhibit

As part of its 25th anniversary celebration, Newport Aquarium is presenting “Ring of Fire: World of the Octopus.”

This new exhibit opening today features seven different displays focused on what organizers refer to as the “bizarre and fascinating creatures that live between towering volcanos and deep ocean trenches.”

The popular giant pacific octopus will have a large new habitat located in the Octopus Den. Upon entering the cage, visitors will find a new floor-to-ceiling display where the animal can explore and exhibit its natural color-changing, shape-shifting behaviors.

The exhibit will include a new rotating collection of other octopuses and strange fish including the new wunderpus, an unusual striped octopus that mimics the appearance and behaviors of venomous animals, like sea snakes and lionfish, as their way to scare off predators.

Visitors will see a display showcasing a cluster of hydrothermal vents and the animals that live on them such as fish, anemones, crabs and lobsters. These towering structures form in the deep sea where molten lava meets near-freezing seawater. In the wild they can reach up to 18 stories tall.

Just like in the wild, Newport Aquarium’s new 360-degree display bubbles and fizzes “to show the chemical soup that’s constantly spewed from these vents.”

Visitors can get eye-toeye with the ghostly-pale giant isopods that lurk in the deep sea.

Other new animals, common to Puget Sound in Washington, include the painted greenling, which lives among the venomous tentacles of sea anemones, and the penpoint gunnel, an eel-like fish that can mimic the colors of its surroundings and breath air. The new peacock mantis shrimp will also be on display with its iridescent body resembling a peacock feather and ability to punch its prey at speeds as fast as a bullet.

“I’m so proud of the hard work the team puts in to bring unusual animals that our guests would otherwise never have a chance to see,” said Rebecca Foster, Executive Director for Newport Aquarium, in a news release. “It’s our hope that by being able to connect with these animals in such a special, memorable environment that they’ll want to join us in protecting them and their habitats in the wild.”

Newport Aquarium offers reduced ticket prices with advance purchase online. Find additional information on the new exhibit, tickets and membership options at Newportaquarium.com.

Newport Aquarium is located at 1 Aquarium Way, Newport, Ky.