Description of the attraction
Museum-aquarium in Sevastopol at South Seas Institute, one of the oldest museums of its kind in Europe. Collections of tropical fish, Black Sea fauna and exotic amphibians will not leave anyone indifferent.
Museum history
Sevastopol biological station was created in 1871. It happened on the initiative of the Novorossiysk Society of Naturalists. This is one of the oldest marine biological stations in Europe, and for the Russian Empire it was the very first. The first leader was a zoologist Vasily Nikolaevich Ulyanin, who was engaged in research of the fauna of the Black Sea all his life. The second head in 1880 was Sofia Mikhailovna Pereyaslavtseva … After Countess Dashkova in the 18th century, she was the first woman to lead a scientific institution in Russia. PhD and zoologist, she was one of the most prominent Russian researchers of the biology of the Black Sea. Sofya Mikhailovna discovered more than forty species of invertebrates.
Since 1889, the leader is Alexander Onufrievich Kovalevsky … It was he who came up with the idea of creating a museum-aquarium. He traveled a lot abroad and studied the experience of other similar biological stations and aquariums. A rich scientific library was created under him, and a new building for a biological station was built under him. Before that, the station had no suitable premises and moved several times. The place was chosen on the very shore on the spot former Nikolaev battery … The new building was immediately built with the expectation that it would house a marine aquarium. V 1897 year the museum was opened. Now in front of the museum you can see a monument to its founder.
Originally there was one room with a pool and seven aquariums. The exposition included only the Black Sea fauna. The museum had educational functions: three days a week, it was open free of charge to all visitors. In addition to the aquariums themselves, there were stands with various samples, tables and other inanimate exhibits. In 1912, the building of the biological station was repaired. One more wing was added to it, specifically to house scientific collections.
After the revolution, the museum continues to work: in 1926, for example, more than twenty thousand visitors were registered in a year. In the 1930s, another reconstruction followed: another wing was added and the fourth floor was added. During the Great Patriotic War, the building itself miraculously survived, but the museum collections have not survived. Most of the inhabitants of the aquarium died - there was no one to look after them.
Until 1951, the building and the aquariums were restored. For twelve aquariums a special room was allocated on the lower floors. More than 30 species of fish and animals were presented in them. The biological station conducted research work and organized expeditions to replenish collections and study the Black Sea fauna.
In the mid-60s, a reorganization took place: the Sevastopol Biological Station became Institute of Biology of the South Seas … Now one hall was occupied by aquariums and a swimming pool, and two halls were occupied by a museum exposition.
The last reconstruction of the aquarium equipment was carried out in 1994 year, and at the beginning of the XXI century, new halls with sharks and moray eels were opened.
Aquarium
Now the museum occupies five halls.
The first hall is the Museum of Hydrobionts of the Southern Seas. This is the most popular and beautiful exhibition dedicated to the inhabitants of tropical sea waters. The inhabitants of tropical warm seas are the oldest creatures on earth. The biological systems of the southern oceans are the most complex and richest of all. Besides the most beautiful tropical fish here are the oldest inhabitants of the planet. it corals, sponges, sea anemones, various types of molluscs and arthropods. Sponges are one of the very first multicellular organisms, they appeared on the planet at the beginning of the Cambrian and have not changed at all since then. A little later, arthropods appeared - their evolution began 555 million years ago. The modern arthropods that can be seen in the aquarium include numerous species of marine shrimp, hermit crabs, and crabs. In general, invertebrates make up the majority of modern living organisms: there are much more species of various invertebrates than fish! But of course, there are fish in this collection too. There are more than twenty thousand species of them on the planet. The brightest and most colorful of them live in shallow waters near coral reefs. But in addition to the beautiful "aquarium" fish in the museum you can see predatory moray eels and piranhas, dangerous sea urchins, lionfish and other marine life that are best viewed in a museum rather than meeting them in person.
The second hall is entirely dedicated to the Black Sea … This is the central room of the aquarium, here, in addition to the exposition, there are diagrams of all other rooms and a small souvenir shop. This hall is a direct heir to the very first museum, which was dedicated primarily to local residents. Here is the largest aquarium collection of the Black Sea fauna in the world. The aquariums are designed in the form of various fragments of the seabed: you can see sunken ships of different times, and antique underwater ruins. The Black Sea is home to several hundred species of different algae and about two and a half thousand species animals: more than 160 species of fish, more than 500 different crustaceans, etc. commercial fish: herring, mullet, mackerel, horse mackerel, salmon - and dangerous and even poisonous. For example, stingrays sea cat and sea fox, several species of scorpionfish and sea dragon. And most of all attracts the attention of visitors large pool with live sturgeon … Russian sturgeon can reach two meters in length and live up to forty-five years. Unfortunately, sturgeon is almost never found in the wild now, but it is actively grown on special farms.
Third hall … This room is the oldest hall of the museum, once it was here that the first seven aquariums of the early 20th century were located. Now they are here freshwater fauna … There are several aquariums in the hall, which reproduce the living conditions for the inhabitants of different rivers and lakes. The most interesting life, of course, is in the southern tropical waters. The Amazon basin, the Cambodian rivers - all this can be seen here.
The fourth hall is the Exotarium. It is dedicated to reptiles. Several species of turtles live there. For example, unique freshwater soft turtles - This is one of the oldest species of turtles in general. They have a shell, but it is not covered with a stratum corneum, but with skin. These are the pork turtle from Australia and the Nile Trionix from Africa. The exposition also has sea turtles … For example, the green turtle - it is found in the Atlantic Ocean and can reach one and a half meters in length and four hundred kilograms of weight. Also, of course, you can see here the most common freshwater turtles now - red-eared turtles. They were once brought to Europe from America, and now their spread has become a real ecological disaster. They do not have natural enemies in Europe and are actively multiplying.
But of course, the star of the Exotarium is "Crocodile Gena". In fact, he is not a "crocodile", but a "crocodile caiman". His predecessor (who lived a long and happy life here) remained in the form of a scarecrow in one of the halls. He was personally acquainted with Raul Castro. The Cuban delegation, which visited Sevastopol in 1979, was terribly happy about "their own". Caimans are relatively small beasts. They can be as little as two meters in length. Larger crocodiles consider them to be prey. They themselves feed mainly on fish, molluscs and crabs - and are very useful: for example, they gladly eat predatory piranhas from reservoirs.
The fifth hall is deadly … Representatives of the marine fauna are gathered here, a meeting with whom not in a museum environment can end in disaster. The hall was created in 2013, for the Day of the Navy. A huge forty-ton aquarium occupies shark … These are black fin reef sharks, one of the most dangerous predators of the marine world. The slightly smaller aquarium is designed for predatory moray … Also on display is the famous Japanese puffer fish, poisonous if not prepared correctly. There is electric eel … In fact, he has nothing to do with acne, just a little similar in appearance. This fish can reach three meters in length and create an electrical discharge of up to one and a half thousand volts. Organs that generate electricity occupy three quarters of the length of his body. Another unique feature of this fish is the need to breathe regular air. Three or four times an hour, the eel rises to "breathe". But even without water, he can do for several hours. This fish lives in bolts and oxbows along the Amazon. She uses electricity not only for hunting, but also for orientation in space.
In addition to aquariums and living abodes, the museum includes other exhibits. These are information stands dedicated to the history of the Sevastopol biological station, numerous stuffed animals and shells, imprints of fossil fish, and much more.
In addition to the usual excursions, the museum organizes one-time interactive classes with schoolchildren and lecture cycles for students in schools in Sevastopol. In 2017, the aquarium's 120th anniversary was widely celebrated.
The small open area of the museum is decorated with numerous funny sculptures on a marine theme.
On a note
- Location: Sevastopol, Nakhimov Avenue, 2.
- Official website:
- Opening hours: daily from 10:00 to 17:30.
- Cost: adults - 300 rubles, children under 6 years old, participants of the Second World War, invalids of the 1st group, conscripts - free of charge. The ticket price includes photography.
