Underwater Photos

Feather duster feeding behavior
The fine bristles of the feather duster allow it to capture floating plankton. It then brings them to its mouth by closing in the bristle similar to a closed umbrella.

Eyes of a feather duster
A close up of the center of a feather duster.

Blue throat pike blenny
The blue throat pike blenny will defend its territory against any creature that approaches too close such as the hermit crab in the background.

Two bluethroat pike blennies fighting
Pike blennies are extremely territorial and will fight others of their kind as well as other species of animals.

Territorial display of pike blennies
Territorial display between two bluethroat pike blenny

Hermit crab eyes photograph
Close up of the eyes and antennaes of a hermit crab.

Seaweed blenny and banded jawfish
The seaweed blenny seeks refuge in any discarded trash such as this glass bottle where as the banded jawfish constructs an elaborate sand tunnel.

Sailfin blenny display
The large sail-like dorsal fin gives the sailfin blenny its name. It will swim out of its home into mid water and flare its fins back and forth in order to attract a mate.

Baby sea turtle photograph - Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea)
This Leatherback baby sea turtle photograph was taken in open ocean. The Leatherback sea turtle gets its name because its carapace is covered by a thick leathery skin instead of the bony scutes found in all other marine sea turtles.

Seahorses swimming upright
Why do seahorses swim upright? They lack a caudal (tail) fin to propel them forward and so use their dorsal (back) fin to move slowly and upright. According to researchers the seahorse evolved this way due to a great expansion of sea grass beds approximately 25 million years ago. The idea is that it is easier to hide among the blades of grass by swimming vertically alongside them. Learn more.

Seahorse identification
The coronet (top of the head) on some seahorses is believed to be as unique to each individual seahorse as the fingerprint on a human. I use this unique trait to help with the identification of individual seahorses where I dive regularly.

Seahorse feeding habits
Seahorses have no teeth or stomach. Their food literally passes right through their digestive system. Because of this seahorse spend a large part of their time feeding on tiny crustaceans or any plankton that is drifting by.

Body color change in seahorses
Seahorses have the ability to change colors by the contraction and expansion of cells in their body called chromatophores. This color change in seahorses happen for a number of reasons which include environmental (blending in with their environment and water quality) and behavioral (courtship and territorial display) factors.

Seahorse vision
The eyes on a seahorse can move independently of each other. It is believed their eyes can also work together to allow for binocular vision. The seahorse can use this binocular vision to focus in on the small crustacean and plankton creatures on which they feed.

The seahorse and Greek mythology
The seahorse was perhaps the inspiration in Greek mythology for their depiction of Poseidon and his horse-drawn ocean chariot. The seahorse's scientific name, Hippocampus, is Greek for "crooked horse." Learn more.