Curious Thresher
Monad Shoal, near Malapascua Island, the Philippines “Curious Thresher“ We jumped off the dive boat from Evolution Dive at Malapascua Island at about 6:15 in the morning. We had enjoyed a glorious sunrise during the half-hour ride to the site, interspersed with cool showers as the breeze picked up the spray from our boat smacking […]
Jettin’
The Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia (also, St. Elsewhere, in the Caribbean) “Reef Squid“ Squid are ubiquitous in every ocean. On the reef, they are seldom seen alone. Usually, divers and snorkelers will notice a line stretching down the reef — squid all arranged facing the same direction, moving easily along the contour of the […]
Zebra Fans
(Two underwater images of Zebra Lionfish.) Probably my favorite lionfish in the Lembeh Strait was the small zebra lionfish. Shades of red, salmon-pink, and orange are striped with white and the fish’s fins are webbed, with spines that do not protrude very far. The overall effect is a beautiful, brightly colored orange and red fan near the dull, black sand bottom. It is often seen holding station or slowly crawling along the bottom using the hooked spines on the bottom of its fins.
Red Ghost
Peering into the depression, I saw a red robust ghost pipefish. As I watched, the small ghost pipefish moved over a hydroid branch, moving in to the side of the small depression where he was hiding.
Lord of the Shrimps
(Underwater photo of a yellow moray eel surrounded by several types of shrimp.) I got down near the sandy bottom to approach the coral head, then looked up into a crevice in the rock. Inside, a yellow moray eel was watching me. The many different types of shrimp around seemed to have eyes only for the eel.
