Explore The Oceanarium - Great Barrier Reef

An image of walk through tunnel Reef Exhibit

The Great Barrier Reef is actually made up of around 2,100 individual reefs and 800 island or coastal reefs.

Despite its enormous size – 2,000kms long and covering a total area of 350,000kms – the reef has actually been formed, over millions of years, from the skeletons of tiny marine organisms called coral polyps.

Related to sea anemones and jellyfish, these polyps secrete a hard, outer skeleton made from calcium as a defence against predators and as a means to anchor them.

When they die their skeletons remain behind. New polyps attach themselves to the old skeleton and the cycle starts again with each new generation building on the remains of the previous one.

Coral reefs have been described as the ‘rainforests of the deep’ because of the incredible variety of life that they support. The Great Barrier Reef is made up of 400 species of coral and over 2,000 species of fish ranging in size from tiny cleaner wrasse to huge sharks.

Literally thousands of other creatures ranging from jellyfish to sea turtles, starfish to whales and shellfish to sea birds rely on the reef to support them.

Some of the species you will find in our Great Barrier Reef display are:

Creature Name	Scientific Name
Atlantic Pork Fish	Anisotremus virginicus
Blacktip Reef Shark	Carcharhinus melanopterus
Blue Runner	Caranx crysos
Blue, Yellow Tail Damsel	Chrysiptera parasema
Cownose Stingray	Rhinoptera bonasus

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Oceanarium, the award winning Bournemouth Aquarium, is top of the list of where to go and what to do in Dorset. We are a fun, friendly, all weather attraction situated on the seafront, next to the pier. The Oceanarium is home to thousands of sea life creatures and welcomes families, schools, educational trips, group bookings and is a unique private hire venue. It provides disabled wheelchair access and is pushchair friendly. Bournemouth is one the largest tourist destinations on the south coast of England. Visit the Oceanarium for a great day trip out for all the family.