PRETTY POISON THEY'RE DAZZLING TO THE EYE BUT DANGEROUS TO THE TOUCH AT AQUARIUM'S NEW EXHIBIT.

Byline: Alessandra Djurklou Staff Writer

They are dangerous, sometimes deadly and ... beautiful.

The golf-ball-size, blue-ringed octopus found off the coast of Australia has enough venom in it to kill eight adults. The poison dart frog at home in the South American rain forest is used as an inkwell of sorts for, well, poison darts. And the coral-crusted stonefish is the most venomous in the world.

But don't hate them because they're so beautifully dangerous. If you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. Besides, one man's weapon might be another's HIV cure.

That is the message in ``Dazzling & Dangerous,'' the Aquarium of the Pacific's newest exhibit, which opened Friday and continues through March 2007. The exhibit focuses on the venomous and poisonous critters that live in the Pacific and in the Americas -- not just fish or marine animals, but also insects, amphibians and reptiles.

By giving people a safe place to view these animals up close, aquarium officials announced, the aquarium hopes to educate the public about ways to avoid them as well as protect them, since most are not deadly to humans.

There is a difference between poisonous and venomous. Sure, you may not care if you are in a crisis situation, but just remember this: Poison is ingested; venom is injected. This means that the fugu pufferfish you order at the sushi bar (a live baby version is in the aquarium's Tropical Pacific Gallery) can poison you if not prepared correctly, while the stingray you stepped on in Seal Beach bay (the aquarium has a nonstinging version you can pet) will inject its venom into you.

If the concept is still not clear, the aquarium offers several educational options. One is ``Dazzling & Dangerous: The Film,'' a free 12-minute movie that shows throughout the day.

Another is ``Venom: The Tour,'' a backstage educational tour that costs $15 on top of the admission price. Then there is ``Dazzling & Dangerous: Venomous Creatures,'' an interactive show.

And there is always a traveling exhibit, where aquarium employees handle critters and let you see them without a glass barrier in between. These traveling exhibits focus on three animals: an emperor scorpion, a red knee tarantula and a ringneck snake. None of these are lethal to humans, though the scorpion and the tarantula are Hollywood favorites, and have starred in many creature features, sometimes greatly enlarged.

While the various poisonous and venomous animals can be found throughout the aquarium, there is a focused exhibit on Southern California natives in the special exhibits gallery. This includes the aforementioned stingray display, where people can pet these dinner-plate-size animals without getting hurt. The backdrop for the display is the Seal Beach bay, where large concentrations of stingrays gather, cementing the city's reputation as the place in the U.S. where you are most likely to be stung. Your chances of avoiding that increase greatly if you shuffle your feet while wading. This tends to warn the rays that you are there.

Other animals in this gallery include the fried egg jelly (which actually looks more like scrambled eggs), the strawberry anemone (it's very pink), the Southern Pacific rattlesnake and the Gila monster -- whose venom has been used to treat diabetes. But don't worry -- the venom can be synthesized, so no Gila monster has to die to cure anybody.

The reptiles and insects in this exhibit are on loan from various places in Los Angeles, and will go back home in March.

The animals in the other galleries are here to stay.

The deadly ones are, of course, the most morbidly fascinating. The poison dart frogs can be found in the Tropical Pacific Gallery. They come in yellow, red and green. The most toxic one is the yellow frog. But its poison may someday lead to a cure. Researchers have been studying it as a possible HIV remedy.

Next to the pretty frogs is a rather ugly toad called a cane toad. Even if you could, this isn't one you ever want to kiss -- its skin is full of poison.

Near the frogs and toads reside the stinging catfish, small, striped fish that can cause you some pain. When they're young, they hang out in tight groups, so getting in the middle of one of those is not a great idea.

Further along, you come to the blue-ringed octopus, which lives in a tiny tank and looks completely harmless. At least it lights up before it releases the venom that can kill you and seven of your closest friends.

Then there's the fugu pufferfish. Once you've seen it swim, you may not wish to dine on it ever again. And finally, the most dangerous -- the stonefish. If you're lucky, you'll see the half-dozen or so stonefish during feeding time. That's when a tube is carefully lowered down through the water to the sandy bottom. A white translucent shrimp pops out of the tube, right next to what looks like a crusty rock. But that's no rock -- what was once perfectly still moves with lightning speed toward its prey, and the shrimp is gone.

And even if you're not a shrimp, this is one rock to stay away from. The stonefish has 13 spines on its back, and they're sharp enough to go through your shoe. If you're lucky enough to have some antivenin with you, you may survive, but if all 13 hit you at once ...

And speaking of antivenin, the aquarium has made sure that area hospitals have been stocked with supplies, just in case an employee gets on the wrong side of one of these creatures.

You can't be too careful, even if you remember that the dazzling can be dangerous.

DAZZLING & DANGEROUS

What: New exhibit focusing on venomous and poisonous sea critters.

Where: Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach.

When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; through March 31, 2007.

Admission: $19.95 adults; $16.95 seniors ages 60 and older; $11.95 children ages 3-11; free for kids under 3.

Information: [phone]; www.aquariumofthepacific.org.

CAPTION(S):

8 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) LOOK! (but don't touch)

Meet some colorful but dangerous creatures

(2 -- 5 -- color) It's feeding time at the Aquarium of the Pacific as Wyatt Patry takes care of round rays. Other aquarium residents are a Mexican tarantula, a poison dart frog and a puffer fish.

(6 -- color) The Aquarium of the Pacific's new exhibit, ``Dazzling & Dangerous,'' is exactly that: full of exotic creatures that are beautiful to look at but potentially harmful -- even fatal. These sponges and soft corals contain toxins that have been synthesized for use in the treatment of human diseases.

(7 -- color) Venom from the Gila monster has been used to treat diabetes. The venom can also be made synthetically.

(8 -- color) This West Coast sea nettle, a type of jellyfish, has a sting that can kill.

Leo Hetzel/Staff Photographer