A pair of Tomato
anemonefish hover defensively near their host anemone, shown mostly
retracted underneath a large outcropping of rock. Also shown are
two starfish, "Christmas Tree" worms (one yellow and one
white, between the blue starfish arms), several "feather
stars" (comatulid crinoids-- one prominent yellow specimen is
positioned above the red starfish), and a tiny goby resting on a
soft coral (right side). The purplish and orange patches could be
encrusting corals or sponges. As divers, we often overlook the most fascinating reef creatures. We tend to focus on distant objects or landscapes, looking for the elusive large animal that we probably won't get close to anyway. Most of the life on the reef is very small relative to humans, and experience has taught me to spend more of my time scanning the reef for less obvious, more intriguing finds. |