A new SeaQuest-branded aquarium is to open at the Rosedale Centre shopping mall in Roseville, Minneapolis, US.

Expected to employ 50 people when it opens in Q2 2019, the aquarium will house an array of marine animals, including stingrays and sharks and other wildlife such as snakes, birds and reptiles.

The aquarium will be sectioned by geographic region, with visitors taken through Iceland, Egypt, the Caribbean, South America, Australia and China, with animals that are unique to each of those parts of the world.

The new aquarium is another sign of the shift happening in shopping centres across the US and a reflection of the power of online retail as more and more malls turn to attractions to fill unit spaces.

"It’s a mix of a petting zoo and an aquarium all in one," said company spokesperson Elsa MacDonald. "There aren’t too many places in Minnesota where you can snorkel with tropical fish."