Cozumel, June 18-25, 1999
1999 NED Fest - Picture Gallery
Really Small Stuff
|
|
|
I have always been a lot more fascinated by the very small stuff than by the very large (unless it is something
really large like whale shark, a manta, or a great white about to nibble on my fin tips.) These are about
the smallest I have found and photographed. I am always looking for nudibranchs and thought I had found one but
nooooooooooooo!, Humann classifies this as a Painted Elysia and a sea slug. I suppose the big difference is the exoposed gills of a nudibranch
but it has been a long long time since I took biology. the actual size of this beast is less than .3 inches.
The thumbnail on my screen is larger than what I saw on the bottom.
Only in Cozumel
|
|
The only place you will find a Splendid Toadfish is in the Cozumel Channel. And then the only place you
will normally find them is in a hole.
Danger John Robinson!
|
|
|
|
Instructors and Divemasters are always screaming about not touching things. They never give a reason other
than protecting the reef (and that should be enough) but here are a couple more. This is by far the largest
bristle worm I have ever seen. My guess is at LEAST 12 inches long. The closeup shows some of those lovely
spines that can get imbedded under the skin and cause such pain. The next photo is a scorpion fish. There is
a fish there trust me. If you can't find it, be sure you don't reach out and touch the reef cause this or
one of it's cousins could be what you touch and it WILL be a painful experience. Finally, the MOST dangerous
animal on the reef. The ubiquitous Damsel fish. This fish bit my fingers, attacked my camera, lunged at the
mask. They are absolutely fearless about protecting their territory. Good thing they are only a couple of inches
long!
Jawfish
|
|
|
|
Jawfish are fun to watch and very pretty. You do have to make like a hole in the water since they are very shy. But
if you wait a few minutes, they will come back out of their holes and go about their business. There were two
on one dive that I watched for about 5 minutes. We'll call them Homer and Ned. Homer would get a big mouthful
of sand and when Ned wasn't watching, dump it down Ned's hole. Ned being a good neighbor would just clean up
his own hole and not retaliate in kind. This went on for five minutes and who knows how long after or before.
Pipehorses
|
|
|
|
No seahorses this trip but a pipehorse will just have to do. Found these on the first dive of the first day
at Palancar Caves when I didn't have my camera with me. We went back the next day and I took the camera. They
were still in the same general area (a sand chute at about 70 feet towards the end of the dive) but as you
can see, telling them from the debris on the bottom is the real challenge. They look just like the seaweed
and are something around an inch long. One appears to be pregnant (and ladies I believe the MALE of this
species carries the young.)
Skinny Fish
|
|
|
|
Pipefish are related to seahorses and are almost as hard to find. These appear to be a short-finned pipefish
and a white-face pipefish. Then there are two pike blennies. They will take over an abandoned tube of a
tube worm. If you place your finger beside the tube they will get greatly offended and popout to bite your
finger. Since their heads are about a half inch long, this is no real danger but will get you a view of
MOST of the fish. Sailfin blennies will do the same thing (but that picture didn't come out.)
Octopus
|
|
It is rare to see an octopus during the day, but on one dive at Cedar Pass we found several conch shells
piled in front of an obvious hole in the reef. When a conch shell was moved, a long tentacled arm reached
out to retrieve it. In the resulting tug of war, the entire octopus was eventually exposed. There were two
very close together that were both protecting eggs.
The Nursery
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are a lot of cases where the juvenile of a species is much more spectacular than the adult (another
reason I am always looking for the small stuff.) The juvenile spotted drum is one example. The somewhat
out of focus juvenile Queen Angel is another.
Schooling Fish
|
|
|
Sometimes I fire off an opportunistic shot. No time to focus or really aim just time to point and shoot. Such
was the case with the school of jacks that was swimming past. The grunts and porkfish were under ledges
and were much more cooperative with the photographer.
Just Coral and Sponges
|
|
|
|
Sometimes I also take pictures because the colors or patterns appeal to me. Such is the case with these.
Bottom Dwellers
|
|
|
|
These are all bottom dwellers. The Sand Diver is pretty common but these were very uncommonly calm in
the presence of divers. Didn't move even on a very close approach. The Tiger Tail is a relative of the Sea
Cucumber that leaves its body up in the reef for protection and stretches out a long tentacle with a mouth
at the end in search of food. This one was maybe 4 feet long. The urchin and neighboring fish were on Cedar
Pass.
Commensal Living
|
|
|
Dogs and cats - living together! The end of civilzation as we know it! There are lots of critters living in
a cooperative relationship on the reef. Look real close behind the arrow crab and you'll also see some antennae
that I suspect are a red-banded shrimp. You will also have to really strain your eyes to make out the tiny crab
on the side of the red sponge. Couldn't find the space to get the macro lense in without destroying something
so I did what I could with what I had. You can make out the pincers and part of the body of this teeny little
crab.
Misc Reef Life
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assorted fish that were willing to smile for the birdie. Coneys are fairly common. The Sargeant Major was
guarding a nest full of eggs. This was the first time I have seen a Hogfish in Cozumel but for all my Florida
friends that spearfish, I told you I could find Hogs. Did you believe me? Nooooooooooooooo! The filefish and the
Great Barracuda are also pretty common. This Cuda knew we were there and was either curious or just didn't
care that we were there. I got this picture from maybe 5 feet away.
Clueless in Dallas
|
|
Except that the first one is full of little conchs leading me to thing that it is some kind of Conch egg sack
or something, I have no clues about these.
A Salute to the Founder of the Feast
|
Two people were the motive force behind the Coz NED Fest. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for the time
and effort they each invested in making this the enjoyable group trip that it was. To the Feesh, I thought
this was you lurking behind me but it was only one of your cousins. To Strike, we never got to dive together
but it was still a pleasure and perhaps we can rectify the diving part when I next get to Oz. Just as soon as
I finish that damned book and put the seminar together. Of course, diving takes precedence over writing
so it could be a while.
chuck@chopf.com send some E-mail to Chuck
Return to Coz NED Fest Trip Report
Go to the Mad Monk's UW Photo Gallery
Go to the Mad Monk's SCUBA Trip Report Page
©1998 Construction started on July 4, 1999 by the Pirate King. Down the
British Up the Colonials!
You are visitor number
5218
as of Wednesday, 20-Aug-08 09:49:04 EDT
This page was last modified on Saturday, 12-Feb-00 13:41:06 EST.