Aquariums

Transformed in 2001, this hall presents the world of fish, both living and fossilized.
The first vertebrates were small, jawless fish. They appeared more than 500 million years ago. Since then, fish have evolved and currently constitute the largest and most varied group of vertebrates.
Among the living species, visitors can admire lampreys, rays, polypterus, sturgeons, and Lepisosteus, as well as clown fish, rendered famous by Nemo. It is also a unique opportunity to observe the Protopterus, a Dipnoi from equatorial Africa. Dipnoi are lungfish that must rise to the surface to breath. This group of fish already existed when South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica were still joined as the supercontinent of Gondwana. Several fossils represent the main groups of existing fish, Agnatha, cartilaginous fish, bony fish, Dipnoi, and Coelacanths. Other fossils also show extinct fish such as Placodermi and Acanthodes. Some of them are more than 400 million years old, twice as old as dinosaurs.