Lisbon Oceanarium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Oceanarium in the Park of Nations.

The Oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal (Portuguese: Oceanário de Lisboa, pron. IPA: [osiɐ'naɾiu dɨ liʒ'boɐ]) is an aquarium dedicated to the ocean. It is located in the Park of Nations, which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo 98.

The building is the work of the North-American architect Peter Chermayeff, resembling an Aircraft carrier, and is built in the pier of an internal sea. It is one of the largest aquariums in the world, and has a large collection of marine species — birds, mammals, fishes, cnidaria and other marine organisms.

The exhibition is arranged around four smaller aquaria, displaying the fauna and flora of the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and of the Antarctic and a large central tank to exhibit species of the open ocean, from sharks and large groupers to Tuna fish and small wrasses. Despite its intention of representing the open ocean, it has been criticised by several scientists for grouping together species that would never meet in nature.

The exhibition aquaria can be viewed from several levels to see underwater and coastal habitats.