26 MAY - NIGHT DIVE Sea urchin. Those spines are like porcupine quills. Have not Identified this one yet Cuttlefish come in all sizes . . . . . . this one is very tiny in the background Can you spot the octopus? Small crab I have not had time to identify
Three views of Reef stone fish or stone fish (Synanceia varicose) It is a carnivorous ray-finned fish with venomous spines. It lives on reef bottoms camouflaged as a rock.
It is the most venomous known fish in the world. Anyone with kids and a DVD player probably thinks s/he knows all there is to know about the clown anemone fish, or, simply, clown fish. What s/he may not know is that the heroes of "Finding Nemo" are actually called false anemone fish. True anemone fish, Amphiprion percula, are nearly identical, but have subtle differences in shape and live in different habitats. There are 28 known species of anemone fish, most of which live in the shallow waters of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the western Pacific. They are not found in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, or Atlantic Ocean. I was once told/read that TRUE CLOWN FISH (CLOWN ANEMONE FISH) can ONLY BE FOUND IN Palau. Imagine my surprise and delight to run across the exception, not once, but twice on this trip. Amphiprion percula, the true Percula Clown fish or Clown Anemone fish, these fish have a bright orange color, thicker black outlines, and do not exceed 4.5 inches in length. Perculas are also distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific and are common residents of reefs in this region. I'm not certain if this is a squid, octopus or cuttlefish; IT'S SO SMALL I had to really crop and enlarge this image.
A small squid eating . . .	. . . an even smaller crab
DEB WIERSUM: Absolutely fabulous. He surely does take great trips. MARCELLA BENI: Absolutely fabulous! I love his pics of nudis. ALBERT BUYS: Awesome pictures including the venomous creatures.

LAST DIVES OF THE TRIP . . . HERE