Rough-Spined Urchin
Category: Species
A sampling of what lives beneath the waves
Postcard from the Reef – Too Close
It was a reasonably big eel, not the largest I have seen, but large. I stopped to take a couple pictures, even though I have plenty of photos of yellow-margin moray. The yellows are among the friendlier members of the morays, known to play with divers. Undulated morays, on the other hand, are downright nasty, biting at anything that intrudes on their space.
This is too close.
When this fellow comes out to inspect the camera, it is my turn to pull back a bit. True, it is the camera front and foremost, most likely to get nipped. Still, I give the eel a fair amount of respect, a “friendly” eel still possess a substantial bite.
Postcard from the Reef – Sleeping Parrotfish
A number of parrotfish species can secrete an odd mucus cocoon in which the fish will sleep through the night. Divers will often find these fish at night, enveloped in a transparent balloon. The discarded cocoon makes an odd sight rolling around the reef the next day.
Even within the same species some fish will use this technique, some will not. It is not known how this behavior is useful to the fish. This very large bullethead parrotfish is sleeping without aid of a cocoon…
Postcard from the Reef – Honeycomb Coral
It is worth a moment, even in the limited time of a dive, to stop and look close at the coral itself. Never mind the psychedelic fish, the coral is what makes a reef. Untold billions of small polyps, each a separate animal, cooperate to build the largest natural structures in the world.
Some corals are easier to examine closely. Honeycomb coral has corallites much larger than most, easier to get a good look without magnification. Getting your mask close allows you to appreciate each little animal, part of the larger colony.
Whitemouth
Needlefish in the Surf
As I came clear of the sea cave I knew I was right under the surf crashing on the rocks. Not truly dangerous, we would not have been out in a really big swell, bad enough if I had decided to go right into it. Kicking out a bit further I surfaced, into a swarm of needlefish hunting along the edge of the foamy water. These little predators appeared to be taking advantage of the reduced visibility and noise of the waves and bubbles to hunt. As they darted through the intense blue water, I attempted to take a few photos. First, get the camera out of macro, turn off the strobe, daylight color balance, anything else?
Bloody Hermit Crab
Shark!
Postcard from the Reef – Brown Slipper
Lobster & Cup Coral
