Green Sea Turtle – IUCN Conservation Status: Endangered Green sea turtles are a common sighting in the Florida Keys Green turtles are a common sighting in the Florida Keys. They appear similar to a hawksbill turtle, however there are some identifying features we can look for. The green sea turtle bill is not beak-like. Hawksbills have a […]
Bluespine Unicornfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern In Hawai’i the bluespine unicornfish is known as “kala” The bluespine unicornfish can be found in the Indo-Pacific. Here it is pictured in the calm water off Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai in Hawai’i. It is also known by the common name, short-nose unicornfish. It […]
Conspicuous Sea Cucumber – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The conspicuous sea cucumber is a bottom feeder The conspicuous sea cucumber is a particularly weird looking sea cucumber. It can be found in abundance in the waters of Kaneohe Bay off the coast of Oahu, Hawai’i. Their local abundance is noted by a rarity throughout […]
Flying Gurnard – IUCN Conservation Status: Varies Flying gurnards walk around using their ventral and pectoral fins We are looking at an overhead image featuring a flying gurnard (left) and peacock flounder (right). Both fish have amazing camouflage skills. This photo was taken at Blue Heron Bridge in West Palm Beach, Florida. Blue Heron Bridge is a […]
Pacific Peacock Flounder – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The Kaneohe Sandbar can turn into a beach with the right tides! We were nearly three hours into a day of kayaking when we decided to hop out of the boat for a snorkel. Jill and I were paddling in Kaneohe Bay, which is home to […]
Leaf Scorpionfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern I saw three different species of nudibranchs between the two dives! This photo was taken while out on a dive off the coast of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Despite having been to the Pacific dozens of times, this was surprisingly my first ever dive in the […]
California Aglaja – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data Although it looks like a nudibranch, it is actually a headshield slug We are looking at a marine sea slug called a California aglaja. Its scientific name is Navanax inermis. I took this photograph in about fifty feet of water in the Channel Islands National Park. This particular sea […]
Florida Box Turtle – IUCN Conservation Status: Vulnerable As the name suggests, the California two-spot octopus has two false eye spots This month we are showcasing photographs with the theme of “Light”. This California two-spot octopus was hiding in the dark canopy of the kelp forest. This photograph is from Catalina Island, off the coast of California. We […]
Green Turtle – IUCN Conservation Status: Endangered Turtles can hold their breath for two hours before surfacing. Even if this photo was in color, you would not use the color of the shell to determine that this is a “green turtle”. The name “green turtle” actually comes from their green fatty tissue. There are other ways to […]
Hawksbill Turtle – IUCN Conservation Status: Critically Endangered Hawksbills only grow to about three feet in length. They will grow to 180 pounds on average. This month our gallery theme is “Turtles”! Ben and I are fortunate to have had many turtle encounters over the years. They are magical moments. When I was 13, I went snorkeling for the […]