| Aspect: | Look like partly dyied oval glass bulbs. May have different colours, or even be partly "frosted". |
| Population: | Common, not abundant, but are difficult to spot. |
| Notable feature: | Usually in clusters. |
| Environment: | Under sheltered ledges or rock overhangs. |
| Behaviour: | - |
Last update: 22/10/15
Eric H. Biass
Thursday, 13 March 2014 15:04
Chimney Sponge
| Aspect: | Irregular tube (not rigourously cylindrical), translucent but rigid, colour varies from white, to light blue and light mauve or lilac. |
| Population: | Relatively common. |
| Notable feature: | Often bulges two thirds up from base, can branch out in an awkward manner. Very thin-walled excurrent |
| Environment: | Recesses, but can grow upside down from rocky overhangs. |
| Behaviour: | - |
Published in
Sponges
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Wednesday, 12 March 2014 15:20
Orange Cup Coral
| Aspect: | Bright yellow-orange polyps, or when polyps not deployed show pink-red bottle cork-like corallites, generally densely packed (see differences in pictures below). |
| Population: | Common. |
| Notable feature: | - |
| Environment: | Under the vaults of caves or even under the fantail area of shipwrecks. |
| Behaviour: | - |
Published in
Stony corals
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Tuesday, 11 March 2014 19:09
Spanish Grunt
| Aspect: | The Spanish Grunt is overal darker than the Bluestriped Grunt and is distinguished by yellow or gold colour between the higher black line and the dorsal spine, as well as by a dark shade in the forward area of the tail fin. All fin trailing edges are yellow. |
| Population: | Much less common than the Bluestriped and French Grunts. |
| Notable feature: | Black longitudinal spripes over silver and particularly golden blotch on upper part of tail fin root. |
| Environment: | Usually found close to bottom in small schools and mixing with other grunts. |
| Behaviour: | The Spanish Grunt is shy, but can be approached slowly. |
Published in
Grunts
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Friday, 28 June 2013 16:57
Black Durgon
| Aspect: | An oval narrow black body with thin white lines adorning the root of the dorsal and anal fins, wafting against a light blue backdrop is what most divers will ever see of the Black Durgon. In fact, under adequate lighting the skin reveals a very subtle assembly of diamond-shaped scales and a number of coloured reflections, as photos herewith show. |
| Population: | Common. |
| Notable feature: |
The unmistakable feature of the Black Durgon are the two thin bright lines that run along the base of the lazily undulating and far set back dorsal and anal fins. Quick dash emergency speeds are generated by the tail fin. Powerful mouth. Why Triggerfish? The name is owed to its peculiar mechanical defense system by which the dart it erects in lieu of forward dorsal fin is vertically locked in place by the second spine. |
| Environment: | Near coral mounds, over sandy seabed from where it feeds on small crustaceans. |
| Behaviour: | Difficult to approach and photograph. |
Published in
Triggerfishes
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Sunday, 14 April 2013 18:13
Bulb Tunicate
Published in
Ascidians
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