World of Water
Depicting life in our oceans, The Sunlit Sea exhibit shows a kelp forest habitat and animals of the open ocean, including a 4.9-metre white shark, a leatherback turtle and a broadbill swordfish. The latest addition is a full-sized model of a giant squid – Architeuthis – one of the most accurate models available. We have one of the largest collections of giant squid in the world.
Shark World
Shark World is one of the world’s best and most comprehensive exhibits on Chondrichthyans – the order of sharks, skates, rays and chimeras – in the world. A key attraction is the life-size, over 2-metre high model of the jaws of the megatooth shark, probably the largest predator the world has ever known. An AV centre presents stunning footage of sharks in their natural environments and deals with issues round shark conservation.
Whales and Dolphins
The whale and dolphin exhibit includes 16 casts of whales and dolphins: humpback whale, Layard’s beaked whale, Cuvier’s beaked whale, orca or killer whale, sperm whale, pilot whale, humpback dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, Heaviside’s dolphin, common dolphin, dusky dolphin, spotted dolphin, striped dolphin, Fraser’s dolphin, Risso’s dolphin and the Antarctic dolphin.
Living Coelacanth
The Iziko South African Museum has a beautiful, now iconic, cast of the first living coelacanth discovered. This cast forms the centrepiece of a new display that will include information on the coelacanth’s evolutionary history, its biology – including its special features – as well as audiovisual footage of live coelacanths. Fossilised remains of these fish will also make up part of the exhibition.
