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The dwarf hawkfish, Cirrhitichthys falco, is a hawkfish of the family Cirrhitidae found across the Indo West Pacific oceans.
The spotted hawkfish can reach a maximum length of 7cm. They are red-pink and white in color and they have tassles on the tip of their dorsal fins.
They inhabite tropical reefs and they feed on very small fish and benthic invertebrates.
The harlequin sweetlips, Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides, a sweetlips of the family Haemulidae, is found in Indo-West Pacific oceans. Its length is up to 72 cm.
Juveniles are brown with large white blotches and mimic the movement of a poisonous flatworm for defence against predators. They gain more spots and the spots reverse from white to black as they age.
It inhabits coral reefs and feeds on crustaceans, mollusks and other fish.
The black and white snapper, Macolor niger, is a snapper of the family Lutjanidae found across the Indo Pacific oceans. It is also commonly known as the black snapper, but should not be confused by other snappers with the same common name.
The black and white snapper can reach a maximum length of 75cm. Its fins and eyes are black and its body vary in color from light grey to black depending on the age. Juveniles are lighter in color and adults can be almost completely black.
The black and white snapper is solitary when juvenile but form large schools as adults.
It feeds on crustaceans and small fishes and inhabits reef walls and outer lagoons.
It is sometimes confused with the midnight snapper, macolor macularis.
Black and white snapper are a prized food fish and are caught commercially, as well as recreationally.
Sea Snakes are highly venomous marine reptiles inhabiting the warm tropical waters of the world. Sea Snakes have developed anatomical features streamlined for adaptation to an aquatic environment. Evolutionary marvels living at sea, Sea Snakes must still surface to breath air unlike eels, underwater neighbors who share the same habitat, like the moray eel, who have gills for absorbing oxygen and are absent of any scales. Banded Sea Snakes evolved from land species into aquatic reptiles having smooth-scaled bodies easy to recognize in shades of light blue with black bands. Excellent swimmers and divers, there are over 70 species of Sea Snakes making them one of the most plentiful and widely disbursed family of poisonous reptiles in the world. Over 50 species are members of the family Hydrophiidae. Snakes in this family typically have laterally compressed tails which they use like oars to propel themselves through the water, valvular nostrils with valve-like flaps which they close upon submersion, accompanied by total loss of ventral plates. Because they must surface to breathe, Sea Snakes are known to frequent the shallow ocean waters of beautiful tropical coral reefs of the world.
The name "leopard shark" may also be used for the zebra shark Stegostoma fasciatum and the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier.
The leopard shark, Triakis semifasciata, is a hound shark found in the coastal waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, along the coast of North America from Oregon to Baja California.
The species can grow up to 7 ft (2 m) in length, with a long, slender body and head. The distinctive markings that give the species its common name provide camouflage against dappled ground. Leopard sharks are bottom feeders, eating worms, mollusks, crustaceans, octopuses, and small fish.
Leopard sharks migrate seasonally. Their reproduction is aplacental viviparity (no yolk-sack placenta); the 4 to 29 pups per litter gestate within the body of the female and are born live.
The sharks hunt in groups, sometimes with smooth-hound sharks. The species is actively sought by sport fishermen in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Monterey Bay for its tender, flavorful flesh. Conservationists are concerned with sport fishing of the species, which, like most sharks, reproduces slowly.
Body shape is the most important feature of a fish when trying to identify different families. When you can differentiate between the families such as the angelfish or the butterflyfish, it becomes easier to find certain species. Once you have isolated the family, look for distinguishing features such as different shaped tails and fins, the shape of the mouth and patterns adorning the individual fish. Different colour patterns include; bars, bands, horizontal stripes or lines, checks, blotches, speckles, spots and rings. Tail shapes can be classed as rounded, square, forked and crescent.
The depth of colour in the markings are not as important as their shapes and patterns, because most fish have different intensity ofcolour depending on their activity. When hunting colours are often
muted or camouflaged, as apposed to courtship rituals, when the males adopt vibrantly rich colours to entice females into spawning. Bright colours are also used to warn other animals of danger, such as the poisonous lionfish, and to camouflage themselves by imitating patterns and even the movement of corals in an effort to survive.
The different environments and swimming methods also provide a large clue towards identification. Pelagic or open ocean fish such as trevally are usually silver or gray with elongated bodies and forked
tail fins for enhanced speed, while the sand dwellers such as the gobies and grubfish are well camouflaged with modified pelvic fins for resting upon. Many of the reef fish swim using their pectoral fins, making them able to turn easily in small spaces.
The dwarf hawkfish, Cirrhitichthys falco, is a hawkfish of the family Cirrhitidae found across the Indo West Pacific oceans.
The harlequin sweetlips, Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides, a sweetlips of the family Haemulidae, is found in Indo-West Pacific oceans. Its length is up to 72 cm.
The black and white snapper, Macolor niger, is a snapper of the family Lutjanidae found across the Indo Pacific oceans. It is also commonly known as the black snapper, but should not be confused by other snappers with the same common name.
Sea Snakes are highly venomous marine reptiles inhabiting the warm tropical waters of the world. Sea Snakes have developed anatomical features streamlined for adaptation to an aquatic environment. Evolutionary marvels living at sea, Sea Snakes must still surface to breath air unlike eels, underwater neighbors who share the same habitat, like the moray eel, who have gills for absorbing oxygen and are absent of any scales. Banded Sea Snakes evolved from land species into aquatic reptiles having smooth-scaled bodies easy to recognize in shades of light blue with black bands. Excellent swimmers and divers, there are over 70 species of Sea Snakes making them one of the most plentiful and widely disbursed family of poisonous reptiles in the world. Over 50 species are members of the family Hydrophiidae. Snakes in this family typically have laterally compressed tails which they use like oars to propel themselves through the water, valvular nostrils with valve-like flaps which they close upon submersion, accompanied by total loss of ventral plates. Because they must surface to breathe, Sea Snakes are known to frequent the shallow ocean waters of beautiful tropical coral reefs of the world.
The name "leopard shark" may also be used for the zebra shark Stegostoma fasciatum and the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier.
