The exhibition of the living animals in the Vasco da Gama Aquarium is characterized by the diversity as it presents animal and vegetable species of the most diversified zoological and botanical groups existing in marine and freshwater ecosystems from all over the world. However, it is the Portuguese marine fauna that deserves our special attention.

1	Invertebrate Gallery	10	Quarantine (Marine Fauna)
2	Technical offices	11	Quarantine (Freshwater Tropical Fauna)
3	Chemistry laboratory	12	Captive Breeding Room (Freshwater Fishes)
4	Freshwater tropical fishes	13	Amphibia Room
5	The tropical marine fauna	14	Backstage tanks
6	Library	15	Sea-turtles tank
7	Freshwater fishes	16	Freshwater fishes
8	Portuguese Marine Fauna	17	South Africa Fur Seals
9	WC's	18	Aquaterrariums

 The Invertebrate Gallery , which starts the living animal’s exhibition, is dedicated to the marine invertebrates from the Portuguese coast. The species are kept in 19 small tanks (100 l of capacity) arranged in sequence, displaying the increasing complexity that separates the most primitive forms (sponges) from the more evolved ones (echinoderms and chordates).

 Another exhibition area including 36 tanks with a capacity that varies between 600 and 25 000 litters is also dedicated to the Portuguese Marine Fauna .

 The sea-turtles - Caretta caretta (Linnaeus,1758) are exposed in a tank with 45 000 litters of capacity.

 The freshwater fauna is another of the Aquarium attractions. The exhibition includes three areas, each of one corresponding to a different kind of fauna: one group includes 12 tanks, with 100l of capacity, exhibiting small fishes separated according to their geographic origin; the second group is composed of 16 tanks (with capacities varying between 140l and 4600 l) showing some fishes with interesting characteristics from the morphological, physiological or ethological point of view; the third group is composed by different species displayed in 2 aqua terrariums (2600l and 4800 l).

 The tropical marine fauna displayed in 5 aquariums with a capacity of 1150 l occupies another of the exhibition area.

 The marine mammals are also represented by a group of 2 South African Fur Seals - Arctocephalus pusillus (Schreber, 1776) living in a 45 000 l capacity tank.

In conclusion we may say that the Aquarium exhibits more than 200 species and 4000 specimens distributed for 90 fresh and saltwater tank