The Aquarium possess 1000 liters of salty water wish are the home for several typical animal and vegetable species from our coast:
Aquário possui mais de 1000 l de água salgada onde habitam várias espécies animais presentes na nossa costa, entre as quais:
GILT-HEAD
Sparus aurata
Characteristics: It presents a golden short band between the eyes and a black spot over operculum. Its grey on the sides and silver plated in the womb. It’s able to tolerate variations of salinity and temperature that enables it to enter in brackish water zones.
ROCK-BASS
Dicentrarchus labrax
Characteristics: Grey flanks (without black spots) and darker back. Efficient predator, moves fast and with agility, attacking shoals of fish. It’s able to tolerate variations of salinity and temperature, that enables it to enter in lagoons, estuaries and even rivers.
TURBOT
Scophthalmus rhombus
Characteristics: Dorsal face of brownish coloration, with the two eyes. Flattened body allowing to rest on the deep sand moving soil. An excellent example of mimicry, embedding themselves in the deep send and acquiring a similar color.
SEA ANEMONE
Anemonia sulcata
Characteristics: Marine animals in polyp form, very common in the zone of tides, live fixed to the rocks through a basal disk that is also used for movement. The oral disk is surrounded by 4 to 5 crowns of not retractable tentacles, equipped with urticating cells, to capture food and defend from the enemies. The mouth is located in the center of the crown of tentacles.
STARFISH
Asterias rubens
Characteristics: The body consists of a central disk and some arms, generally five, that leave radially from the disk. The body presents limy plates that generally form a rigid skeleton, many times with external thorns. They move by means of ambulacral feet and possess great capacity of regeneration.
SEA-URCHIN
Echinus esculentus
Characteristics: Animals coated with a rigid skeleton in sphere form, being the superior face round and the inferior flattened, with strong mobile thorns. They move by means of ambulacral feet with sucker and are very common in the tide zone where they shelter in holes or cavities. They present an efficient camouflage holding on the body pieces of shells or seaweed.