 As we humans use clothes to send a message, so do the beautiful colors of these chevroned butterfly fish help them communicate. (Chaetodon trifasciatus, Fiji) |
|
|
Click a thumbnail to view the larger image.
|
|
Back
 An explosion of color, soft corals decorate a reef... |
 Delicate arms of a basket star reach out for plankton. |
 In order to maximize their surface area for solar... |
 Like all bivalves, giant clams are filter feeders. Water... |
 The brilliant colors of giant clam mantles are due to... |
 Parrotfish are herbivores and play an important role in... |
 Purple sponges (Nara nematifera) surround green... |
 In the coral city waste is recycled—a resource to... |
 The spaces between corals and sea fans are an extremely... |
 Although many reef creatures withdraw at night, the... |
 These "free-loading" synaptid sea cucumbers are living... |
 Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus)... |
 Sponges are the reef 's pharmacy as they produce... |
 Groups of nematocysts give tentacles of these... |
 In the reef's web of life everything is connected and... |
 Serving the same purpose as a red and white barber pole... |
 This dorid nudibranch feeds on sponges and stores their... |
 The white scalpel of this eye-stripe surgeon fish is hinged... |
 The adaptive advantage of having a large head is that,... |
 Not only is the body of a peacock flounder adapted... |
 As we humans use clothes to send a message, so do the... |
 Each species on the reef—whether it be a sponge, soft... |
 Christmas tree worms decorate reefs in a rainbow of colors,... |
 A mushroom coral is not a colony. It is one single... |
 Although these lizardfish may give the impression of a... |
 Starfish prey on animals that move very slowly, or can't... |
 The animals we usually call jellyfish belong to the class... |
 Lionfishes and scorpionfishes have large, venom-filled... |
 Bassletts. Reef fishes come in a fantastic variety of colors... |
 Unicorn Fish. Weirdly shaped fishes illustrate the amazing... |
 Cuttlefish. The class Cephalopoda contains... |
 This chromodoris nudibranch (or sea slug) grazes on... |
 Most goatfishes are active during the day. They dig in... |
 The bold eyespot on this butterflyfish attracts... |
 Clownfish (also called anemonefish) consider their... |
 Boxer crabs use anemones as weapons. They grab an... |