| Zoo Name: | Aquarium of Rhodes |
| Location: | Rhodes, Greece |
| Date Opened: | 1937 |
| Coordinates: | 36.4571°N 28.2207°W |
| Total Tank Vol: | 80000l |
| Website: | http://rhodes-aquarium.hcmr.gr |
The Aquarium of Rhodes is a research centre, aquarium and museum in Rhodes, Greece. It was built in the 1930s, when the island was under the Italian rule and is currently administered by the National Centre of Marine Research.
The building, an Art Deco design by the Italian architect Armando Bernabiti, was constructed between 1934 and 1935. When it first started operations in 1937, it was named the Reale Istituto di Ricerche Biologiche di Rodi (Royal Biological Research Institute of Rhodes). Research here included the hydrology, sponges, and fisheries of the Aegean.[1]
When the island was handed back to Greece in 1947, the facility was operated as part of the "Hellenic Hydrobiological Institute". Since 1963 it has been known as the "Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes", and is administered by the National Centre of Marine Research.[2] An exhibition area was added to the north side of the building in 1971–72.[1]
The aquarium is in the basement of the building, and is a corridor designed to look like an underwater cave. The tanks along each side of the corridor are filled with approximately 80000L of filtered seawater, providing a natural environment for the residents. The displays include sea anemones and plants, octopuses, sea urchins, corals, bivalves, crabs, lobsters, sea turtles, dolphins, seals, mollusks, sharks, and many other fish. There is a separate holding facility for incoming specimens and organisms that need special handling, where the facility also cares for sea turtles and seals that have been injured nearby.[3] [4] [5]