Before the 2019 ARRL DX SSB contest we did some diving on the north side of Roatan.
Wide angle:
The staghorn and elkhorn corals are starting to make a comeback.
Lionfish hunting:
In an effort to control the spread of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish, divers are trained to hunt them. Lionfish are actually quite tasty.
Molluscs:
Atantic brief squid, Lolliguncula brevis
queen conch, Strombus gigas
Cerithium sp.
stocky certith, Cerithium cf. litteratum
[unidentified]
flamingo tongue, Cyphoma gibbosum
Nudibranchs:
lettuce sea slug, Elysia crispata
paintecd elysia, Elysia picta
saddleback sea slug
Crustaceans:
Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus
spotted spiny lobster, Panulirus guttatus
reef mantis, Lysiosquilla glabriuscula
channel clinging crab, Mithrax spinosissimus
yellowline arrow crab, Stenorhynchus seticornis
stareye hermit, Dardanus venosus
squat anemone shrimp, Thor amboinensis
Worms:
bearded fireworm, Hermodice carunculata
star horseshoe worm, Pomatostegus stellatus
Christmas tree worm, Spirobranchus giganteus
other critters:
social encrusting tunichate, Symplegma viride
sponge brittle star, Ophiothrix suesonii
Fish:
angelfish:
queen angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris
French angelfish, Pomacanthus paru
blennies:
arrow blenny, Lucayablennius zingaro
secretary blenny, Acanthemblemaria maria
butterflyfish:
foureye butterflyfish, Chaetodon capistratus
damselfish:
threespot damselfish, Stegastes planifrons (juvenile left, adults, right)
longfin damselfish, Stegastes diencaeus (juvenile)
bicolor damselfish, Stegastes partitus
yellowtail damselfish, Microspathodon chrysurus
sergeant major, Abudefduf saxatilis
blue chromis, Chromis cyanea
[unidentified]
eels:
spotted moray, Gymnothorax moringa
orange moray, Monopenchelys acuta
gobies:
bridled goby, Coryphopterus glaucofraenum
glass goby, Coryphopterus cf. hyalinus
orangesided goby, Gobiosoma dilepis
goldspot goby, Gnatholepsis thompsoni
rockcut goby, Gobiosoma grosvenon
[unidentified]
neon goby, Elacatinus oceanops
groupers:
rock hind, Epinephelus adscensionis
graysby, Cephalopholis cruentatus
black grouper, Mycteroperca bonaci
grunts:
French grunt, Haewmulon flavolineatum
hamlets:
indigo hamlet, Hypoplectrus indigo
barred hamlet, Hypoplectrus puella
shy hamlet, Hypoplectrus guttavarius
parrotfish:
stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride (initial left, terminal right)
princess parrotfish, Scarus taeniopterus (terminal)
striped parrotfish, Scarus iserti (juveniles left, terminals right)
redband parrotfish, Sparisoma aurofrenatum (initial)
redtail parrotfish, Sparisoma chrysipterum (terminal)
yellowtail parrotfish, Sparisoma rubripinne (initial)
greenblotch parrotfish, Sparisoma atomarium (initial left, terminal right)
puffers:
porcupinefish, Diodon hystrix
sharpnose puffer, Canthigaster rostrata
snappers:
schoolmaster, Lutjanus apodus
mutton snapper,, Lutjanus analis
squirrelfish:
longspine squirrelfish, Holcentrus rufus
longjaw squirrelfish, Neoniphon marianus
surgeonfish:
ocean surgeonfish, Acanthurus bahianus
blue tang, Acanthurus coeruleus
triggerfish:
scrawled filefish, Aluterus scriptus
whitespotted filefish, Cantherhines macrocerus
black durgon, Melichthys niger
wrasses:
creole wrasse, Clepticus parrae (initial)
yellowhead wrasse, Halichoeres garnoti (juvenile left, intermediate middle, initial right)
bluehead, Thalassoma bifasciatum (juvenile/initial)
slippery dick, Halichoeres bivittatus (juvenile)
other fish:
sand diver, Synodus intermedius
harlequin pipefish, Micrognathus ensenadae
trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculatus
smooth trunkfish, Lactophrys triqueter
yellow goatfish, Mulloidichthys martinicus
spotted drum, Equetus punctatus
bar jack, Caranx ruber
great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda
saucereye porgy, Calamus calamus
white margate, Haemulon album
harlequin bass, Serranus tigrinus
fairy basslet, Gramma loreto
spotted scorpionfish, Scorpaena plumieri
[unidentified]
[unidentified]
©2019 Mermaid Underwater Photographic. All Rights Reserved.
Contact us at mermaid@underwater.org.
Last modified 14 March 2019