Londonist is long enough in the tooth to recall a time, way before the thundering rollercoasters and hoards of screaming children, when Chessington World Of Adventures went by the humbler name of Chessington Zoo. Proving that the animal kingdom is still very much part of the fun, the Surrey attraction has taken delivery of a host of aquatic beasties to live in their new Sea Life Centre.

Blacktip reef and nurse sharks, assorted species of stingray, seahorses, and various other fish arrived last week from Dorset to begin a new life in Chessington's 250,000 litre aquarium. They were set to be joined this week by an octopus, and a few more sharks for good measure.

According to the website, the Sea Life Centre will be home to 20 different species. Aside from providing a nice pad for the creatures themselves, for visitors the Centre promises:

Interactive touchpools, fun exhibitions and a walkthrough ocean tank that will offer a final wow-experience as the fish swim overhead.

It sounds great. We only hope the marine biologists have done their homework and ensured that this menagerie of underwater beauties actually get on together, or there may be scores of upset children when the Centre opens on March 15th.

Image of nursing shark courtesy of Scootie's Flickrstream