Rivers
From opening massive mouths to catch food drifting by to knocking bugs out of the sky with expert aim, the animals of the world's rivers are beautiful, bizarre, or a little bit of both. The freshwater wonders of our Rivers exhibit have incredible adaptations, from the inflatable bodies of the Cross River puffer to the vibrant colors of the violet-line piranha.
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Find
Some animals in Rivers can be hard to spot—and reward close looking!
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Breathe
Meet the Australian lungfish, which relies on both gills and lungs to breathe.
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Ripple
Take in freshwater fishes from around the world in this diverse exhibit.
Where freshwater flows
Rivers cover around 480,000 square miles of our planet. They're crucial to the communities that rely on them—people and animals alike! River animals have developed incredible adaptations, like the paddlefish, which swims with a wide-open mouth to catch food drifting by on the current, or the glass catfish, which has no scales and is completely transparent, almost disappearing in the river's flow.
Clouded Archerfish
Paddlefish
Violet-Line Piranha
Fly River Turtle
Lungfish