Antarctic

The Antarctic Habitat in the Oceanário is a representation of an area known as the Sub-Antarctic Zone. Famous for its rough weather, this area is bordered to the south by the notorious Antarctic Polar Front and by the Sub-tropical convergence to the north. The Georgia and Falkland islands are some of the land features and it is precisely this environment that the Oceanário’s team of designers chose to illustrate. See massive calcareous rock formations, as they lay stratified and heavily worn by the thunderous snow and wind that relentlessly punish this zone.

These islands are a safe haven amidst the vastness of the cold Antarctic Ocean. Because of the richness in the surrounding waters, these islands are a oasis for a multitude of organisms, which could not, otherwise, survive the Antarctic frozen shores. During the Summer, sub-antarctic beaches are covered in penguin and seal colonies which lounge in the 12°C sun and take the opportunity to breed.

Sub-antarctic species are also quite rich in fish species, many of which commercially exploited.

Sharks, rays and chimaeras
Dark shyshark, shyshark (Haploblepharus pictus - Scyliorhinidae)

Leopard catshark (Poroderma pantherinum - Scyliorhinidae)

Puffadder shyshark, dogfish (Haploblepharus edwardsii - Scyliorhinidae)

Smallspotted catshark, smallspotted dogfish, dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula - Scyliorhinidae)

Striped catshark (Poroderma africanum - Scyliorhinidae)

Birds
Inca tern (Larosterna inca - Sternidae)

Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus - Spheniscidae)

Rockhopper penguin, Moseley’s penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome - Spheniscidae)

Bony fish
Blue Hottentot (Pachymetopon aeneum - Sparidae)

Fransmadam (Boopsoidea inornata - Sparidae)

Gilthead seabream, gilthead, gilthead bream (Sparus aurata - Sparidae)

Hottentot seabream (Pachymetopon blochii - Sparidae)

Kob, southern meagre, kingfish (Argyrosomus hololepidotus - Sciaenidae)

Musselcracker seabream, white musselcracker (Sparodon durbanensis - Sparidae)

Red stumpnose seabream, red stumpnose (Chrysoblephus gibbiceps - Sparidae)

White steenbras (Lithognathus lithognathus - Sparidae)