divepix - Eric H. Biass

Saturday, 24 November 2012 11:59

Black Margate

Aspect:	Grey body with tall back, black fins and tail. The Black Margate's silhouette is amazingly similar to that of the Porkfish
Population:	Common, solitary.
Notable feature:	Characteristic black blotch spreads from pelvic fin upwards across pectoral fin and fades out beyond this. The name "Grunt" is owed to the sound they can produce under stress.
Environment:	Usually found close to bottom, turning around rocks and boulders ready to hide away.
Behaviour:	Difficult to approach.

Published in Grunts

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Friday, 23 November 2012 20:27

Redear Herring

Aspect:	Silver with deep underslung lower body, not overly handsome.
Population:	Relatively abundant.
Notable feature:	Reddish blotch aft the gills .
Environment:	Schools usually found in relatively shallow waters, in harbours and near piers.
Behaviour:	Will usually swim away when approached closer than two metres.

Published in Small Silvery

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Friday, 23 November 2012 20:19

Sheepshead Porgy

Aspect:	Plain silver body, with seemingly polished head, similar in shape to Pluma, but tail and fin trailing edges darker than body. Also characteristic tiny black spot at the upper pectoral fin base.
Population:	Occasional.
Notable feature:	Lower lip recessed in comparison with upper lip. Like Pluma, prominent back can turn yellow under stress.
Environment:	Usually found close to bottom, solitary.
Behaviour:	Ignores divers if not approached too closely.

Published in Porgies

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Friday, 23 November 2012 19:40

Pluma Porgy

Aspect:	Usually plain white-ish/light silver body, featuring a very pronounced domed back and steeply plunging forehead towards very low emplaced mouth. Dorsal, pectoral and anal fins translucent.
Population:	Common.
Notable feature:	Darker "rim" around eye, pale horizontal iridescent lines across snout between eyes and upper lip, has a distinctive very light blue bar just behind the eye and above the gill area. Like Sheepshead Porgy, top of body turns yellow under stress.
Environment:	Usually found close to bottom searching for food in coral sand, solitary
Behaviour:	Ignores divers, if not approached too closely.

Published in Porgies

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Friday, 23 November 2012 19:24

Keeltail Needlefish

Aspect:	Silvery very long body, even longer mouth than Flat Needlefish
Population:	Common
Notable feature:	Fins ant tail transparent, comparatively large globular eyes.
Environment:	Usually found near the surface and in quiet waters close to coast.
Behaviour:	Difficult to photograph.

Published in Small Silvery

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Friday, 23 November 2012 18:49

Horse-eye Jack

Aspect:	Silvery with often somewhat parched skin near head, "tuna-shaped" body.
Population:	Abundant.
Notable feature:	Large dark eyes, and arguably out-of-place bright yellow fin. A dark serrated strake runs from mid-body to tail base.
Environment:	Usually found in open waters, often as part of large schools. At Ilets Pigeon, Horse-eye Jacks are usually found at a specific site that carries their name in French: Pointe des Carangues. Large schools of Atlantic Spadefish are also found around this spot, but strangely never with Horseye Jacks.
Behaviour:	Ignores divers, always looks busy.

Published in Jacks

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Friday, 23 November 2012 18:05

Great Barracuda

Aspect:	Long slim body with tiger-like dark markings running downwards from the back, long pointed head with extremely pronounced jaw, dark stains randomly scattered on side of body.
Population:	Regularly abundant, especially around wrecks for the larger specimens.
Notable feature:	Two pronounced pointed dorsal fins when deployed and baroque-style tail that appears too large compared to the body make this unmistakable outline, even from a distance. Being the last link in a long food chain, they tend to have a strong concentration of ciguatera toxin.
Environment:	Usually found in open waters, down to at least 40 metres, but also in harbours. One always inhabits the Gustavia's bridge. Lives in groups, except large specimens (the one pictured here around the Augustin Fresnel is a good 160 cm long), which always are solitary due to their canibalist behaviour.
Behaviour:	Look very menacing, but are quite peaceful. Like to swim around divers while they do their deco stops.

Published in Barracudas

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Thursday, 22 November 2012 18:37

Flat Needlefish

Aspect:	Narrow body, silvery with darker back, but refelects dominant environment colour.
Population:	Common.
Notable feature:	Extremely long pointed beak-like jaws, rear body and tail darker than main body, distinctive dark bar between eye and edge of gill.
Environment:	Usually seen in schools close to the surface and in relatively quiet waters.
Behaviour:	Difficult to photograph.

Published in Small Silvery

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Thursday, 22 November 2012 18:04

Chub

Aspect:	Distinctive silvery-coppery rugby ball-shaped body with darker tail, dorsal and anal fins.
Population:	Solitary, not abundant, without being rare.
Notable feature:	Unusual "thick-lipped" mouth.
Environment:	Open waters, more often seen between 10 and 25 metres off Pointe des Carangues.
Behaviour:	Nonchalant behaviour.

Published in Chubs

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Thursday, 22 November 2012 00:24

Boga

Aspect:	Long tapered silvery body.
Population:	Occasional, live in small schools.
Notable feature:	Yellow snout, thin mahogany lines running horizontally along upper body with the last one joining the thicker midbody line before the tail root from where they spread into the graceful deep-V split tail.
Environment:	Usually found in open waters, around wrecks at depths starting at 20 metres.
Behaviour:	Often hide amongst other species, especially striped grunts.

Published in Bonemouths

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