Local Marine Life

  • Jewelled Blenny (Salarias Fasciatus)

    Benthic
    There are 138 images in this gallery
    Tue, 03/13/2012 - 14:13

    This section contains marine species that live, or are most active in the Benthic zone where "Benthic" is generally be classified as the "bottom layer of a body of water"

    Whilst true Benthic species such as Stingrays are almost confined to the sea floor, a large variety of species classed as Demersal fish are included also.

    Demersal fish differ slightly from "true" Benthic species in that whilst they are active on the sea floor, they may inhabit other areas such as coral reefs.

    A very good example of a Demersal species are the members of the Goatfish (Mullidae) family. This family spend almost all of their active life foraging for food on the sea floor, with their downward facing mouths and chemo-sensory "barbels" probing the sand for small invertibrates. However, when not foraging, it is a very common sight to find certain species resting on top of large coral formations within the reef zone.

  • Whale Shark T-047

    Pelagic
    There are 48 images in this gallery
    Tue, 11/30/2010 - 18:09

    This section contains those species that live predominantly in the water column, away from reef systems or the bottom.
    There are many species which may frequent the other zones from time to time, but which are undoubtedly Pelagic by nature.
    An excellent example of this is the Whale Shark (Rhincodon Typus) which traverses the world's tropical oceans, but may appear at shallow inshore reefs in order to exploit synchronized spawning events.

  • Dominick Cousineau-Benoit gets personal finds a new friend at Sail Rock!

    Reef-Dwelling
    There are 185 images in this gallery
    Sun, 05/13/2012 - 14:39

    This section is dedicated to species predominantly associated with coral reefs. Although there are some species which are often thought of as reef fish, they may in fact belong with one of the other categories.

    A good example of these are the Stingrays (Dasyatidae), which are often found sheltering underneath large coral formations (particularly during the daytime). However, there can be little doubt that Stingrays and the like are perfect examples of Benthic species.

  • Sea Moth

    Unidentified
    There are 7 images in this gallery
    Thu, 03/15/2012 - 11:47

    This section contains species which cannot be identified with a reasonable degree of certainty.
    There will be instances where a particular species appears within a known family, but also appears in the Unidentified section. For example:
    If a fish has been photographed, and clearly belongs to the Wrasse (Labridae) family, but the exact species cannot be determined, it will appear in both the Wrasse AND Unidentified sections of the gallery.

    In some cases, the photographs may be of poor quality due to the circumstances under which they were taken eg. poor visibility/lighting, fast moving species, difficulty in approaching, etc.

    As with all of the photographs in the Marine Life gallery, comments, observations or recommendations are most welcome, particularly regarding unidentified/misidentified species.