Valencia Trader

New Aquariums at Oceanografic

L'Oceanográfic in Valencia has opened four new aquariums within the Zona de Templados (Temperate Area), devoted to jellyfish, seahorses and sea dragons, three of the most delicate and most beautiful marine invertebrates of Mediterranean, Indo-Pacific and Australian origin.

The new aquariums, located next to the underwater tunnel, are added to the installations that make up the Zona de Templados of L'Oceanográfic, made up of marine tortoises, kelp forests, a seal exhibition and the attractions La península de Izú (The Izu peninsula) and El acuario de los sentidos (The aquarium of the senses).

In the two aquariums where one can find the seahorses, one of which is aimed at children, one can contemplate three different types of this fish: the common seahorse, the long snouted variety and the mottled variety. Seahorses are to be found included in the group known as Syngnathus which posses special characteristics in their external anatomy which makes them different to other fishes. This does not occur in their internal anatomy, given that they are practically the same as the others.

The sea dragons are the most spectacular group of the Syngnathus. We are dealing with fish of great beauty that, as opposed to the seahorses, do not have a prehensile tail. They are especially characterised by their ability to camouflage themselves against the background that surrounds them thanks to some fleshy appendages that simulate the shape of a leaf.