Underwater World, Singapore
Encyclopedia
Underwater World also known as Underwater World Singapore Pte Ltd, is an oceanarium
located on the offshore Singapore
an island of Sentosa
. Opened in 1991, it has more than 2,500 marine animals of 250 species from different regions of the world. The oceanarium is mostly underground and it is owned by the Haw Par Corporation
. The Underwater World's ticket includes admission to the Dolphin
Lagoon
at Palawan Beach.
Underwater World is also involved in several environmental and educational projects, such as the Living in the Ocean Programme, Ocean Ambassador Programme and the Coral Club.
The Underwater World also provides exclusive venues to host events, such as ocean-themed functions.
that moves visitors along a submerged 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) thick acrylic-windowed tunnel from which they can look at an array of marine life including coral reef
s, stingray
s, moray eel
s, turtle
s, shark
s and others.
s, also known as the "pink dolphins". Several "Meet-the-Dolphins" sessions are held daily to allow visitors to enter the waist-deep pool and interact closely with the dolphins. The ticket to the Underwater World & dolphin show does not include the direct contact with the dolphins, an additional photo-coupon must be purchased. The lagoon also includes a Dolphin Suite where visitors can watch the dolphin performance from within an air-conditioned area.
species, and 'Fish Reflexology', Singapore's first fish reflexology
spa
, where two species of doctor fish
gently nibble away at the dead skin
on visitors' feet. The new features cost 650,000.
This was amid plans that were being proposed for Sentosa's Integrated Resort
s. Genting Group
's 5.2 billion proposal, Resorts World, would feature the world's largest oceanariumthe 8 hectares (19.8 acre) Quest Marine Life Parkwhich would house 700,000 marine animals in a 30000000 litre lagoon
. Rival bidder
Kerzner
-CapitaLand
's proposal would have an even larger marine habitat, with a capacity of 109000000 litre, including the world's largest jellyfish
enclosure and an artificial reef
for diving
and snorkeling
. A week later it was announced that Genting International won the bid.
Oceanarium
An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Florida, or a large-scale aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine animals, especially large ocean dwellers such as sharks.- Marine mammal parks :...
located on the offshore Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an island of Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
. Opened in 1991, it has more than 2,500 marine animals of 250 species from different regions of the world. The oceanarium is mostly underground and it is owned by the Haw Par Corporation
Haw Par Corporation
Haw Par Corporation Limited is involved in healthcare and leisure products. It is the company responsible for Tiger Balm ointment. Its brands include Tiger, Kwan Loong and it also owns and operates weekend and leisure time destinations such as oceanariums and bowling centers.The Haw Par Group...
. The Underwater World's ticket includes admission to the Dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
Lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
at Palawan Beach.
Underwater World is also involved in several environmental and educational projects, such as the Living in the Ocean Programme, Ocean Ambassador Programme and the Coral Club.
The Underwater World also provides exclusive venues to host events, such as ocean-themed functions.
History
The oceanarium was opened in 1991. It re-opened on February 23, 2010 after a revamp of several attractions within the park.Attractions
Underwater World has a 83 metres (272.3 ft) long travelatorMoving walkway
A moving walkway or moving sidewalk is a slow moving conveyor mechanism that transports people, across a horizontal...
that moves visitors along a submerged 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) thick acrylic-windowed tunnel from which they can look at an array of marine life including coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s, stingray
Batoidea
Batoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fish commonly known as rays and skates, containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families...
s, moray eel
Moray eel
Moray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
s, turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s, shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s and others.
Adventures
The Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon offers numerous adventures to the visitors. Some of them include:- Marine Discovery
- Dive With the Sharks
- Dive With Dugong
- Dive With Sharks and Dugong
- Swim With the Dolphins
Dolphin Lagoon
The Dolphin Lagoon is home to several Indo-Pacific Humpback DolphinHumpback dolphin
Humpback dolphins are members of the genus Sousa. These dolphins are characterized by the conspicuous humps and elongated dorsal fins found on the back of adult members of the species...
s, also known as the "pink dolphins". Several "Meet-the-Dolphins" sessions are held daily to allow visitors to enter the waist-deep pool and interact closely with the dolphins. The ticket to the Underwater World & dolphin show does not include the direct contact with the dolphins, an additional photo-coupon must be purchased. The lagoon also includes a Dolphin Suite where visitors can watch the dolphin performance from within an air-conditioned area.
Effect of plans for Sentosa Integrated Resort
On 6 December 2006, Underwater World Singapore launched three new attractionsan interactive stingray feeding pool, a display of small marine reefReef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
species, and 'Fish Reflexology', Singapore's first fish reflexology
Reflexology
Reflexology, or zone therapy, is an alternative medicine involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion...
spa
Balneotherapy
Balneotherapy is the treatment of disease by bathing, usually practiced at spas. While it is considered distinct from hydrotherapy, there are some overlaps in practice and in underlying principles. Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold water, massage through moving water, relaxation or stimulation...
, where two species of doctor fish
Doctor fish
Doctor fish is the name given to two species of fish: Garra rufa and Cyprinion macrostomus. Other nicknames include nibble fish, kangal fish, physio fish, and doctorfishen; in non-medical contexts, Garra rufa is called the reddish log sucker...
gently nibble away at the dead skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
on visitors' feet. The new features cost 650,000.
This was amid plans that were being proposed for Sentosa's Integrated Resort
Integrated Resort
An integrated resort is a resort with a wide variety of leisure and entertainment attractions, all housed in one resort property. The first known integrated resort began in early 1980s in Malaysia, when Resorts World Genting was developed from a single hotel with casino facility to a variety of...
s. Genting Group
Genting Group
Genting Group is an Asian conglomerate. It comprises four listed entities Genting Group is an Asian conglomerate. It comprises four listed entities Genting Group is an Asian conglomerate. It comprises four listed entities (namely holding company Genting Berhad (MYX:3182) and its member companies...
's 5.2 billion proposal, Resorts World, would feature the world's largest oceanariumthe 8 hectares (19.8 acre) Quest Marine Life Parkwhich would house 700,000 marine animals in a 30000000 litre lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
. Rival bidder
Bidding
Bidding is an offer of setting a price one is willing to pay for something. A price offer is called a bid. The term may be used in context of auctions, stock exchange, card games, or real estate transactions....
Kerzner
Sol Kerzner
Solomon Kerzner is a South African accountant and business magnate.-Background and career:Kerzner was born in Troyeville, Johannesburg, the youngest of four children to Jewish Russian immigrants...
-CapitaLand
CapitaLand
CapitaLand Limited is the result of a merger in the year 2000 of then DBS Land and Pidemco Land. It is one of Asia's largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, the company's core businesses are real estate development, hospitality and real estate financial services...
's proposal would have an even larger marine habitat, with a capacity of 109000000 litre, including the world's largest jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
enclosure and an artificial reef
Artificial reef
An artificial reef is a human-made underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, control erosion, block ship passage, or improve surfing....
for diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
and snorkeling
Snorkeling
Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...
. A week later it was announced that Genting International won the bid.
List of animals in Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon
- Golden TrevallyGolden trevallyThe golden trevally is a tropical marine fish in the jack family . Native to the eastern Pacific Ocean from southern California to Ecuador, it is associated with reefs and usually found within the upper ten m of the surface. Juveniles are usually bright yellow with vertical black bars, which...
- Bluespotted Ribbon-Tailed Stingray
- Pink DolphinHumpback dolphinHumpback dolphins are members of the genus Sousa. These dolphins are characterized by the conspicuous humps and elongated dorsal fins found on the back of adult members of the species...
- Coconut CrabCoconut crabThe coconut crab, Birgus latro, is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper size limit of terrestrial animals with exoskeletons in today's atmosphere at a weight of up to...
- Cownose RayCownose rayThe cownose ray is a species of eagle ray found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England, USA to southern Brazil. Cownose rays grow rapidly, and male rays often reach about in width and weigh . Females typically reach in width and weigh .-Gestation:The...
- DugongDugongThe dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
(Dugong dugon) - Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia AuritaAurelia auritaAurelia aurita is one of a group of more than ten morphologically nearly identical jellyfish species in the genus Aurelia...
) - Spider CrabSpider crabThe term spider crab can refer to various species of crab in the family Majidae. See crab spider for spiders of the Thomisidae family.*Japanese spider crab , the largest living species of crab, found on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean*Libinia emarginata, the portly spider crab, a species of crab...
- Yellow TangYellow tangThe yellow tang is a saltwater fish species of the family Acanthuridae. It is one of the most popular aquarium fish.-Appearance:...
- Spotted Ragged-Tooth Shark
- Green Sea TurtleGreen Sea TurtleThe Green sea turtle or green turtle is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
- Nibble Fish
- all kinds of reef fishFishFish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
- PufferfishPufferfishTetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab...
- Sea StarSea starStarfish or sea stars are echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. The names "starfish" and "sea star" essentially refer to members of the class Asteroidea...
s/Starfishes - Chambered NautilusChambered NautilusThe Chambered Nautilus, Nautilus pompilius, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it is not a golden spiral. The shell exhibits countershading, being light on the bottom and dark...
- ArapaimaArapaimaThe arapaima, pirarucu, or paiche is a South American tropical freshwater fish. It is a living fossil and one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world.-Anatomy and morphology:...
- Sea AngelSea angelSea angels previously known as one kind of pteropod, are a large group of small swimming sea slugs in six different families. These are pelagic marine opisthobranch gastropod molluscs in the clade Gymnosomata within the larger clade Heterobranchia....
- Bannerfishes
- Butterfly Fishes
- Rainbow Crab
- Vinegar crabCrabTrue crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
- Box Crabs
- Decorator Crab
- Humphead WrasseHumphead wrasseThe humphead wrasse is a wrasse that is mainly found in coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also known as the Māori wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, Napoleonfish; or "So Mei" 蘇眉 and "Mameng" ....
- Shovelnose Rays
- Eagle RayEagle rayThe eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom....
s - Nurse SharkNurse sharkThe nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, sometimes referred to as the Nur Shark is a shark in the nurse sharks family, the only member of its genus Ginglymostoma...
s - Bamboo Sharks
- Sea DragonSea Dragon-Fish:* Leafy sea dragon * Weedy sea dragon -Military:* Operation Sea Dragon , a military operation* MH-53E Sea Dragon, a helicopter* USS Seadragon, two ships of the United States Navy...
s - Clown fishes
- Sea AnemoneSea anemoneSea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia. Anthozoa often have large polyps that allow for digestion of larger...
s - Giant GrouperGiant grouperThe giant grouper , also known as the brindle bass, brown spotted cod, or bumblebee grouper and as the Queensland groper in Australia, is the largest bony fish found in coral reefs, and the aquatic emblem of Queensland, Australia. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region, with the exception...
- white-tip reef sharkReef sharkSeveral species of reef-associated sharks are known as reef sharks:* Blacktip reef shark, Carcharhinus melanopterus* Caribbean reef shark, Carcharhinus perezi* Grey reef shark, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos...
- Leopard SharkLeopard sharkThe leopard shark is a species of houndshark, family Triakidae, found along the Pacific coast of North America from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico...
- Lion's Mane JellyfishLion's mane jellyfishThe lion's mane jellyfish is the largest known species of jellyfish. Its range is confined to cold, boreal waters of the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and northern Pacific Oceans, seldom found farther south than 42°N latitude. Similar jellyfish, which may be the same species, are known to inhabit...
- Blue JellyfishBlue jellyfishCyanea lamarckii, also known as the Blue jellyfish or Bluefire jellyfish, is a species of jellyfish in the family Cyaneidae. Populations in the western Pacific around Japan are sometimes distinguished as Cyanea nozakii or Cyanea capillata nozakii.-Distribution:This species is found in the pelagic...
- Sea NettleSea nettleChrysaora quinquecirrha is a species of jellyfish that inhabits Atlantic estuaries, such as the Chesapeake Bay...
See also
- List of aquaria
- Jurong Bird Park
- Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World
- Night SafariNight SafariThe Night Safari is the world's first nocturnal zoo and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Singapore.The concept of a nocturnal park in Singapore was mooted in the 1980s by the former executive chairman of the Singapore Zoo, Dr Ong Swee Law...
- Singapore ZooSingapore ZooThe Singapore Zoo , formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens and commonly known locally as the Mandai Zoo, occupies 28 hectares of land on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. The zoo was built at a cost of S$9m granted by...
External links
- Underwater World
- Sentosa Underwater World Photo Gallery by Wong Chek Poh at pbase.com
- Additional Pictures from the Underwater World & Dolphin meeting