The Ghost pipefish is one of those sea creatures that divers simply love , mainly due to the fact that these tiny creatures are so difficult to spot, blending in so well with their surroundings, that often the only way to see ghost pipefish is to dive with an experienced dive master who knows where they live on the reef. The second reason for these creatures being so popular with divers is that they are simply stunning and unusual creatures to look at, as they hover motionlessly upside down looking like an extension of the coral behind it.

Ghost Pipefish also better known as False Pipefish or Tube mouth Fish, are in fact not members of the Pipefish family, but are closely related to the Pipefish and sea horse family, which is perhaps why the Ghost Pipefish while having the long tube-like snout taking up 1/3 of its size is similar to the pipefish, and its body covered with external plates making its appearance and size more like a seahorse.

They are found in tropical waters of the Indian Ocean primarily and also known to be found in the western pacific up to Japan. Ghost Pipefish are tiny creatures that grow no longer than 6 inches (15cm) and are found in waters ranging from 3-30m (9-98ft) mostly around coral reefs. Ghost Pipefish feed on tiny crustaceans like shrimp, mysids (opossum shrimps) and benthic creatures that live in the substrate or seabed. These creatures are almost vacuumed up into the Ghost Pipefish’s long snout.

Ghost pipefish spend most of their lives with their head/mouth facing downwards, floating near motionlessly around coral or rocks that they blend in with making them nearly impossible to see. These fascinating creatures are also known to change their color to blend in with their backgrounds, and additionally change their shape as well, adding to their mystery and intrigue.

Some of the more well-known types of Ghost Pipefish are the Ornate, Robust and the Rough Ghost Pipefish.

Ornate Ghost Pipefish (Harlequin Ghost Pipefish)
The Ornate Ghost pipefish also known as the Harlequin Ghost Pipefish is probably the most easily identifiable type of Ghost Pipefish, owing to its elaborate form, well developed fins and brighter variable colors and spots or bands make it a prize for underwater photographers and scuba divers. Ornate Ghost Pipefish are normally found close to featherstars, soft coral, sea pens and black coral and grow up to 11cms in length.

Robust Ghost Pipefish
Varies from Green to brown and is known to mimic the appearance of rotting sea grass or sea weed and is very difficult to spot. This species of Ghost Pipefish grows up to 15cms (6 inches) and is found in lagoons and coastal bays and areas containing sea grass.

Rough Ghost Pipefish
The Rough Ghost pipefish grows to 12cms in length and is reddish brown and covered with rough scales that make it look like algae.

Photo Credits: photos by PacificKlaus, Nick Hobgood,Stephen Childs,ray ellersick on flickr

Did you know that nearly 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans and 80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface! In fact, the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet. The the largest animal on our planet ever(larger than the greatest dinosaurs), the blue whale still lives in the ocean and it’s heart is the size of a Volkswagen. Here are some more fascinating facts about interesting creatures of the ocean-

The Octopus

• Octopus has three hearts and its blood is light blue.
• An adult octopus can squeeze through a hole the size of a 10-cent coin.
• Octopuses are completely deaf.
• An octopus can detach itself from its arm and to escape from predators and can later regrow the limb, with no lasting ill effects.
• The blue-ringed octopus, merely the size of a golf ball, is one of the most poisonous animals on earth!

Seahorses

• Seahorses are the only animals in the entire animal kingdom in which the male, not the female gives birth and cares for their young! The female seahorse deposits the eggs into the male’s small pouch like a kangaroo where the eggs are fertilized and where the baby seahorses grow until it is time for them to be born.
• Seahorses are monogamous and mate for life! Every morning, they come together with their partner, dance, change their color, twirl around with linked tails and then separate for the rest of the day.
• While mating, seahorses utter musical sounds.
• Sea horses have a voracious appetite and can they graze continually and consume 3,000 or more brine shrimp per day.

Sea Turtles

• Sea turtles excrete salt absorbed in sea water from their eyes, which is why they seem to cry.
• Turtles live on every continent except Antarctica.
• Turtles range in size from the 4-inch Bog Turtle to the 1500 pound Leathery Turtle.
• The leatherback turtle is the largest sea turtle at 6 and a half feet long and weighing up to 1,500 lb.

Jellyfish

• Jellyfish have been around for more than 650 million years which means that they outdate both dinosaurs and sharks
• A jellyfish’s body consists of over 95% water
• The Box jellyfish has 64 anuses
• The Box jellyfish (sea wasp) kills more people than any other marine creature each year. Its sting can kill in 3 minutes… and it can move at almost 2 meters per second. If stung, the odds of getting back to the shore, or even Surviving are almost Zero. The amount of venom in a Box Jellyfish could kill 60 people
• The worlds largest known jellyfish can reach a diameter of 2.5 m / 8ft and its tentacles can grow to be half the length of a football field.

Crabs

• Crabs teeth are in their stomachs
• The Japanese Spider Crab is the oldest crab of the world and is also believed to be the most deep-living crab as well as the one with the longest lifespan. It has a walking leg span of 3 to 4 m, which can go to 8 m when outstretched.
• 8. 1 million tons of crabs are eaten annually in restaurants and homes all over the world

*Photo Credits: photos by Morten Brekkevold, San Diego Shooter, Bemep, lassi.kurkijarv, LightIsBeauty on flickr

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Longnose Hawkfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Jawfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Flamboyant Cuttlefish

photo by NeilsPhotography on flickr

Curious Batfish

photo by CW Ye on flickr

Blue Mandarinfish

photo by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton on flickr

Balloonfish (Pufferfish)

photo by laszlo-photo on flickr

Skunk Anemonefish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Hairy Frogfish

photo by CW Ye on flickr

Imperator Shrimp

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Transparent Whip Coral Goby

photo by CW Ye on flickr

Nudibranch

photo by Stephen Childs on flickr

Lizardfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Christmas Tree Worms

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Eastern Blue Devilfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Juvenile Emperor Angelfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Mantis Shrimp

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Red Cuttlefish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Cleaner Shrimp on a Snake Eel

photo by doug.deep on flickr

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“It was a night dive on the wall, and I was busy scanning the rocks and coral illuminated by my dive light’s narrow beam, when my dive master frantically points out a small orange/red clam like creature attached to the wall. Upon closer inspection I was simply mesmerized. The clam had red tentacles through which a blue bolt of electricity seemed to be flashing across back and forth like a tiny lightning bolt that burned bright blue in the darkness. I simply couldn’t take my eyes off this creature.”

The “clam” that the diver above is referring to is actually known as The Electric Flame Scallop, also called the Red Electric Flame Scallop or scientifically known as Lima Sp. Belonging to mollusk family known as Limidae which comprises of only bivalve mollusks which are made up of  scallops, clams, oysters and mussels that have a shell consisting of two rounded plates called valves joined at one edge by a flexible ligament or hinge.

The Electric Flame Scallop, inhabits the waters of the Indo-Pacific, ranges in size from 1 inch to 3 inches when reaching maturity and is instantly recognizable by its soft parts being a flame red color, with several bright red tentacles protruding from the open valves (shell).  What makes this creature even more fascinating is that it seems to create bluish white electricity which can be seen shooting across the mantel like lightning bolts quite visibly in the dark.

While the purpose of the Electricity generated by this creature is unknown, it makes a remarkable spectacle for any night dive where even in the darkness; you can see the flicker of bluish electricity bolts flowing through the scallop’s filaments. For Underwater photography an electric flame scallop is truly a delight to photograph.  During the day, the bio-luminescence isn’t very apparent, which is why electric scallop sightings are more spectacular at night.

The electricity (which is actually a form of bioluminescence)  is not known to be harmful to divers or other creatures, and especially since the electric flame scallop is a filter feeder and feeds off on microscopic phytoplankton and bacterioplankton (omnivorous) it is curious why it possesses such a brilliant ability. Marine Biologists suggest that the light generated by the electric scallop attracts plankton to its filament like tentacles helping it feed from a fixed location.

Often the Electric Flame Scallop is confused with its parent species the Flame Scallop or Lima Scabra which is also similar in appearance, with a red fleshy mantle covered with tentacles, except for the absence of the strip of bio-luminescent tissue on its mantle that sends a flash of color back and forth over the mantle.  Interestingly enough the Flame Scallop, and it’s sub-species the Electric Flame Scallop are not truly scallops but a form of file-clam.

* Photo Credits: photo by Phil Camill on flickr

Sea Snakes even though found quite abundantly in the Indo-pacific oceans are still a rather unusual sight for divers often provoking a sense of fear as they are all known to be venomous and secondly because there is something unnatural about seeing a snake swimming in the oceans.

Sea snakes evolved from terrestrial snakes and have adapted to life in the water by possessing a flattened tail that helps propel them in the water and unlike fish or similar eels, they do not possess gills, but instead small flaps to close their nostrils as they dive underwater to feed.

There are over 62 different species of sea snake, and they mostly live in the warm coastal waters of the Indian Ocean or the Pacific Ocean, near land. Australia’s great barrier reef is renowned for the number and variety of sea snake that inhabit its waters, some of them living completely in the water, and others both terrestrial and aquatic.

Sea Snakes feed on fish, fish eggs and their favorite food eels, which they inject with their venom and swallow whole. They can remain submerged underwater four up to an hour at a time without surfacing for air.

Almost all sea snakes are venomous, however not all are aggressive, often attacking only when provoked. Since sea snakes control the amount of venom they inject when they bite, the chances of survival are often good and It is estimated that 75-80% of Sea Snake bites are “blanks” where venom was not used. However some of the most potent venoms of all snakes are found in a few species of sea snake, often being compared to up to two times the toxicity of a terrestrial rattlesnake, with the most toxic sea snake being the banded sea krait.

Most sea snake attacks are reported by fisherman that accidentally haul in the snakes in their fishing nets and get bitten while handling them. Scuba Diver incidents with sea snakes are rare and often provoked or when the creature is handled, or when the snake is disturbed during mating/nesting season when they become aggressive and territorial.  Known to be very curious when it come to floating objects and elongated objects like floating debris, sticks, a diver’s regulator air hose or fins, they often come to investigate. If approached by a sea snake while scuba diving always remember that they are potentially very dangerous, and should be treated with caution. At the same time one should not panic and, just carry on swimming, and the snake will do the same.

A Sea snake’s fangs can easily penetrate a diver’s wetsuit despite myth that they do not possess large fangs (which is true but not small enough).   Often immediate pain or effects of the snake bite are not obvious and symptoms that can occur after 30 minutes to several hours post-bite include pain, stiffness, and tenderness of muscles, headache, a thick-feeling tongue, thirst, sweating, and vomiting. If bitten, seek immediate medical assistance.

* Photos from flickr by: Nemo’s great uncle, Allerina & Glen MacLarty, Boogies with Fish

Boxfish are indeed a peculiar family of fish, often seen in reefs waddling side to side and not seeming to get anywhere fast.  The comical looking boxfish family comprises of squared bony fish that have a more hexagonal skeleton structure that move by rowing side to side adding to their comical appearance. Members of the boxfish family include Cowfish, Trunkfish,  and  Cofferfish all of whom are closely related to the porcupine fish and pufferfish family.

The boxfishes cube shaped body is covered with a hard bony armor that provides excellent protection for these slow swimming fishes. Additionally  they are also able to secrete a deadly toxin from their skin when they are in danger, which poisons the surrounding water protecting them from predators.

They can be found mainly near coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and in the southern Atlantic where they feed on algae, mollusks, and crustaceans.

Longhorn Cowfish
Longhorn Cowfish are instantly recognizable members of the boxfish family owing to their yellow appearance and elongated  ’horns’ that protrude from the front of its head rather like a cow or a bull. The Cowfish survives off sponges, molluscs and worms that it uncovers from the sandy substrate by blowing jets of water into the sand.

Spotted Trunkfish
Another instantly recognizable boxfish that gets its name from the black spots it has covered over its yellow/golden body which grows to 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 in) in length. Spotted trunkfish are shy but curious fish that swim slowly above reefs and like all box-fish live in shallower waters and in protected lagoons or areas of less current. Trunkfish are protected by a bony outer surface that acts as body armor and has two sharp spines guarding their rear fins. Additionally, trunkfish secrete a colorless ciguatera toxin from glands on its skin when touched. The toxic is only dangerous when ingested, so there’s no immediate harm to divers, however predators of the trunkfish often end-up dead after ingesting this toxin.

Boxfish seldom do well raised in captivity, but surprisingly there is high demand from aquarists to keep various kinds of boxfish in their marine tanks. Strangely enough the Boxfish if stressed or spooked in a fish tank will secrete its toxin often poisoning everything in the tank including itself, as it has no place to run. This has nicknamed the boxfish the “neutron bomb” by aquarists who despite this fact continue to keep boxfish in captivity. The best place for viewing boxfish is in its natural environment as a scuba diver, where we guarantee you will smile when you see these comical fish struggling to swim or rather waddle away from you.

* Photo credits- photos by gwylow71, Joachim S. Müller, tab2space on flickr

The Napoleon Wrasse, is known by several different names; the Humphead Wrasse, Napoleonfish, Maori wrasse or Mameng. It is also one of  the most favorite fish of divers to come across while Scuba diving. Firstly its size is an imposing presence, and its curious and intelligent looking eyes will watch your every move carefully. Humphead Wrasse are mostly loved by divers because they are extremely curious, often unafraid of divers and enjoy tactile interaction. Napoleon Wrasse are known to get attached to divers and can often recognize their favorite diver and approach to be stroked, often nudging the diver like a dog does when it wants to be petted.

Males of the Napoleon Wrasse family can reach up to 6 feet (2m) in length with the largest recorded Wrasse at 7.7 feet  (2.29 m) are easily identifiable by their  bright electric blue/green,  purplish blue, or a relatively dull blue/green color with large lips and a prominent hump that forms on its head slightly above it’s eyes. Juveniles and females are reddish orange in color or a dull brown.

These creatures are usually found  solitary on the slopes of coral reefs, reef edges and sharp drop-offs, in waters as deep as 330 feet (100m). Being opportunistic predators, they prey primarily on crustaceans, mollusks, sea stars, sea urchins and crabs. Wrasse are also known to feed on toxic, poisonous fish such as puffer-fish, boxfish and crown-of-thorns starfish, which is why they are such an integral part of maintaining the balance in the reef.

One of the more interesting facts about Napoleon Wrasse is their long lifespan, often living up to 30 years reaching sexual maturity only after 5-7 years. This however means that they have a very slow breeding rate, which has caused their numbers to dwindle over the years, primarily due to over fishing, and reef destruction. Napoleon Wrasse are now a protected species of fish in several parts of the world, and found only in large numbers in the Red-Sea, coast of east Africa and the indo-pacific.

photos by Taro Taylor

The Barracuda is an ominous creature that strikes some amount of trepidation in the hearts of Scuba Divers whenever one is spotted circling lazily, more due to the several stories of barracuda attacks on humans and the fact that this predatory fish can dart from a stationery position to warp speed quicker than one can say barracuda. Any diver who has seen this toothy creature hunt down a fish will testify that it is one fearsome hunter.

Barracudas known as sea Pikes, mainly due to its elongated Pike-like appearance (minus the teeth), are in-fact not related to the Pike in any way. With prominent sharp-edged teeth that come in all different sizes, and a pointy head, some species of the barracuda can grow up to 6 feet in length which adds to its intimidating nature. Barracuda are found all over the world primarily in tropical and sometimes in temperate waters often near coral reefs.

As predators, the Barracuda are extremely successful fish, they have the ability to surprise their prey with short bursts of speed (up to 28 miles per hour (45 km/h) and are voracious feeders. Younger Barracuda swim in large groups known as a battery, and once they reach full size, adult males break away and become solitary hunters.  Barracuda are opportunistic hunters and will prey on any kind of fish that chances along its way when its hungry. Barracuda are also known to have great eyesight, but being opportunistic hunters, they are also notoriously known to attack first before identifying its prey.

Is it reasonable to be afraid of barracudas? The answer is no, just like sharks, the risk of being attached by a barracuda is extremely low. Of the 22 barracuda species found throughout the world, the great barracuda is the only one known to attack humans. Usually incidents take place in murkier waters, near harbors, where it is theorized that the barracuda on sighting the glint of a shiny object, mistaking it to be a fish, will attack.  This is why it is advisable for divers to refrain from wearing shiny glinting objects like watches, bracelets, rings and chains while diving in barracuda infested waters, especially where the visibility is poor, as barracuda are known to attack first and ask questions later. Most barracuda attack victims have been fisherman and only a couple of incidents in decades of a diver being attacked. Barracuda will only attack in murky waters if it mistakes a human as prey, or if it spots a shiny object which it mistakes for a fish, if it is provoked, or if a diver/fisherman is swimming with dead fish in their hands. Spearfishing near barracuda or hand feeding barracuda is considered extremely dangerous.

As barracuda have two rows of sharp teeth, and with its slashing attack, even a bite is capable of causing severe tendon, nerve and tissue damage often severing major blood vessels, which is the cause of most barracuda attack related fatalities.

Barracuda will more often than not keep their distance from divers; however their inquisitive nature results in them often circling a group of divers at a distance which can be rather unnerving for most. The best thing for a diver to do when confronted with barracuda, is to keep your distance and avoid provoking them and making sudden jerky movements, more often than not the barracuda will simply keep its distance and swim away into the blue.

*Photo credits: photos by JennyHuang and Tom Weilenmann on flickr

One of the most unique and fascinating creatures a Scuba diver can come across on a dive, is the rarely spotted peculiar looking sawfish.  With a long snout interspersed with sharp saw-like toothy scales, the sawfish is a creature difficult to not identify.

Sawfish though they may resemble a shark with a saw nose; they in fact belong to the family of Rays. They are also considered one of the more highly endangered marine species in existence, and are now protected under the highest protection level of the Endangered Species list. Often growing up to a length of 7m (23ft) and with a lifespan of 25-30 years, the numbers of this species has dwindled over the centuries due to excessive hunting for traditional medicine and souvenirs.

Sawfish are found primarily in the tropical and sub tropical waters of the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific . 5 out of the 8 different species of sawfish are found in Australia, and are known to live in fresh water  river estuaries and large lakes most notably known to be found in Lake Nicaragua.

The saw like teeth located on the Sawfishes rostrum (nose) is in fact a kind of scale known as denticles that the sawfish uses to dig up its prey of crustaceans buried in the sea bed. It’s real set of teeth are located in its mouth that the sawfish uses to devour its prey. The strange looking rostrum or snout also contains motion- and electro-sensitive pores that allow sawfish to detect movement of prey buried in the ocean floor.

The Sawfish is a nocturnal predator, feeding on mainly a diet of crustaceans, prawns, crabs, and other invertebrates, and may sometimes feed on smaller fish, slashing at them with its saw-like snout before devouring them. Being able to traverse between brackish and fresh water, sawfish are often found hidden in the muddy bottom of river estuaries making them a rather unique marine creature.

If you are looking to Scuba Dive with Sawfish, the chances you will ever come across one are highly unlikely, being firstly endangered and nocturnal creatures often lying buried in the seabed during the day. The best chance of spotting a sawfish is in Australia’s Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, where currently the largest existing population of sawfish are known to exist. In freshwater, the sawfish is known to be most commonly sighted in Lake Nicaragua, where overfishing had caused the population to drastically decline until the government outlawed the hunting of sawfish from the lake.

Photos from flickr by: greyloch, tricky ™, istolethetv

Not something you would want to find in your plate of Calamari, the Giant Squid and Colossal Squid have long been the stuff of legends. Stories surrounding the creature claiming it sank ships and plucked sailors off decks, heightened our curiosity of these already mysterious creatures over the last decade. Dead specimens, that sometimes washed up on beaches, provided proof of the existence of these massive deep-dwellers, but no researchers had ever seen one alive until a few years. Even with increasing sightings since, the Giant and Colossal Squids never seize to amaze the World when they make their rare appearances.

Two Japanese researchers, Tsunemi Kubodera of Tokyo’s National Science Museum and Kyoichi Mori of the Ogasawara Whale Watching Association, were the first to lure one of these giants with bait to catch a glimpse of it as well as photograph the live 25-plus foot female squid. The managed this almost impossible feat by followings the sightings of sperm whales with sucker marks on their skin. The researchers then chose a spot to lower a hook baited with a single small squid and an automated digital camera that snapped a picture every few minutes and sent it down to a depth of nearly 3,000 feet. Their operation was a success as the giant squid came for the bait. The unlucky squid however got a tentacle snagged on the hook and struggled for 4 hours trying to get free. In the struggle however, the researchers obtained more than 500 pictures of the squid, which scientists called Architeuthis. They then tried to haul the heavy weight squid into the vessel as a live specimen, but the squid lost the battle and its life while trying to get free.

Just like the Giant Jellyfish that frequent Japanese waters creating waves among marine scientists, researchers and water lovers the world over, there was little known about these rare and elusive creatures.

The Giant Squid, is the smaller of the 2 squids and is more widespread than it’s cousin the Colossal Squid. Specifically found in the North Atlantic Ocean around Newfoundland, Norway and the northern British Isles, the Giant squid has also been sighted around Southern Africa, Japan, New Zealand and Australia among its other dwellings. It is estimated to grow to astounding proportions of 13 meters (43 ft) for females and 10 meters (33 ft) for males measuring from claudial fin to the tip of the two long tentacles. Like all squid, a giant squid has a mantle (torso), eight arms, and two longer tentacles and can weigh a maximum of 275 kilograms (610 lb) for females and 150 kilograms (330 lb) for males. The inside surfaces of the arms and tentacles are lined with hundreds of sub-spherical suction cups and it is common to find circular scars from the suckers on or close to the head of sperm whales who are predators to the giant squid.

The Colossal squid is one of the largest living organisms and is estimated to grow upto 14 metres (46 ft) in length. Unlike the giant squid, whose arms and tentacles only have suckers lined with small teeth, the Colossal Squid’s limbs are equipped with sharp hooks. They are also believed to have a longer mantle than giant squids, although their tentacles are shorter. The Colossal squid known range extends only to the Southern Ocean right from Antarctica to southern South America, southern South Africa, and the southern tip of New Zealand.

While little is known about the life of this creature, scientists have slowly been piecing together evidence of the elusive giants from pictures like these, the specimens washed up on shore and even from stomach contents of sperm whales. In time, we’ll learn more about these mysterious creatures living in the depths of our Oceans.