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The tiger shark
Galeocerdo cuvier
Is a species of requiem shark and the only member of the genus Galeocerdo.
Tiger sharks are relatively large macropredators, capable of attaining a length of over 5 m.
It is found in many tropical and temperate oceans, and is especially common around central Pacific islands.

The tiger shark is the only species in its family that is ovoviviparous (rest is viviparous, see white tip reef shark); its eggs hatch internally and the young are born alive when fully developed.
A litter, between 10 to 80 pups, develops inside the mother's body for up to 16 months. A newborn is generally 51 centimetres to 76 centimetres long.
It is unknown how long tiger sharks live, but they can live longer than 12 years.
The tiger shark is a solitary, mostly night-time hunter. Its diet involves a wide range of prey, including crustaceans, fish, seals, birds, smaller sharks, squid, turtles, sea snakes, and dolphins.
Tiger sharks are considered a near threatened species due to excessive finning and fishing by humans.
Only recently the bad reputation of big sharks, like the Tiger and the Great White, is dwindling, thanks to many good nature documentaries.
Human attacks happen, but who is really to blame?
Reef Cuttlefish
Sepia latimanus
This is the second largest Cuttlefish and has one eye flap.
The largest of the order Sepiida, the Sepia apama, has three eye flaps. Together with the squid, octopus, and nautilus they belong to the class Cephalopoda and are not fish but molluscs.
Found on most coral reef habitats in the Indo-Pacific region in depths between 2 and 30m. They can reach a length of 50 cm.

They have an internal shell, cuttlebone, eight arms and two tentacles furnished with denticulated suckers, with which they secure their prey.
Cuttlefish can rapidly alter their skin colour and texture at will to camouflage itself and to communicate to other cuttlefish.
Recent studies indicate that they are among the most intelligent invertebrate species.
They swim in different manners, usually gently rippling their side fins, but when threatened it sucks water into its body cavity and expels it through a funnel like extension on the underside of the body, causing a fast backward propulsion.
They are also able to shoot a cloud of black ink at predators when threatened.
Their predators include dolphins, sharks, fish, seals and other cuttlefish.
Their life expectancy is about one to two years.
Males can only produce once and the females die shortly after laying their eggs.
Manta Ray
Manta birostris
Manta rays are large cartilaginous fishes belonging to the order Myliobatiformus, family Myliobatidea and genus Manta.

Since 2010 two species have been recognized:
Manta birostris - giant Manta ray: migrates across open oceans - and Manta alfredi - reef Manta ray: tends to be resident and coastal.
They are eagle rays of the subfamily Mobulidae, recognized by their large bodies reaching 7 m, triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing mouths.
Like all rays they are related to sharks and skates and are known for the largest brain-to-body ratio of the sharks, rays and skates.

Habitat throughout all tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs. They are filter feeders, preying on planktonic crustaceans and small fish.
Family members of Devil Rays who are identified by head fins, which when rolled up 'look like horns' and when unfurled they act like a funnel for the mouth when feeding on plankton and fish larvae.
Large sharks and in some circumstances orcas, are manta's main predators.
They are ovoviviparous, each pup wrapped in a tiny shell that hatches inside the mother.
Manta rays give birth to 1 or 2 pups with a disc size of 1.2 m.
Ragged-finned firefish
Pterois antennata
Pterois antennata is one of several species of venomous marine fish of the family Scorpaenidae, commonly known as Lion fish.
They are notable for their extremely long and separated spines, and have a generally striped appearance in different colours.
Found singly or in small groups, at depths between 6 and 50m, on coral and rocky reefs, caves, drop-off's and sandy areas.
They feed on small fish and crustaceans and can reach a length of 20cm.
They are widespread in the Indo-Pacific ocean.

Lionfish can be found during the day, hovering above the ground, in caves or crevices, often upside down.
At night they are out in the open hunting.
When disturbed they raise their feathery fins as a warning and will usually move off out of harms way, however, if cornered they are able to charge at considerable speed.
Their beautiful feathery pectoral and dorsal fins are highly venomous.
Zebra shark
Stegostoma fasciatum
A common carpet shark of inshore Indo-Pacific waters notable for its very long caudal fin.
It is the only species in the family Stegostomatidae and the genus Stegostoma.
Zebra shark is sometimes called the Leopard shark, a name otherwise used for the hound shark, Triakis semifasciata.
Maximum reported size is nearly 3.4 m, although around 2.3 m is more common.

The zebra shark is nocturnal and rest during the day on the sea floor. They sometimes use their pectoral fins to lift up the front part of their bodies while facing into the current with their mouths open to facilitate respiration.
Reef channels are favoured resting spots, since the tightened space yields faster, more oxygenated water.
At night they actively hunt for reef mollusks and crustaceans as well as small fish.
The zebra shark is oviparous, with females laying up to 46 eggs over a 112-day period, the eggs are deposited in batches of around four.
After an undetermined gestation period a 20-36 cm long zebra-striped shark wriggles out.
The hatchlings have proportionately longer tails than adults.
Unfortunately this beautiful creature is threatened by commercial fisheries across most of its range (except off Australia) for meat, fins, and liver oil.
Scalloped hammerhead
Sphyrna lewini
Next to the Scalloped there are 3 genus of hammerhead sharks in the family Sphyrnidae;
Great hammerhead - Sphyrna mokarran
Smooth hammerhead - Sphyrna zygaena
Whitefin hammerhead - Sphyrna couardi
They can be differentiated by the form of their sphyrna "hammers", the first dorsal fins and by colour.
They are found in the coastal regions of tropical, subtropical and moderate climate zones.

Their distribution in the water reaches from the surface down to a depth of 350m.
During the day they are more often found close to shore and at night they hunt further offshore.
Adults occur alone, in pairs or in small schools while young sharks occur in larger schools.
Mature females can reach a length of more than 4 m, but their average is less.
Scalloped hammerheads bear their young alive and give birth to between 15 and 30 pups. The pups measure 50 cm at birth.
The "hammer" is made of cartilage and is very soft when the young are born so as to ease the birth process. The shark's eyes and nostrils are at the tips of the extensions.
They feed on bony and chartilagineous fish, squids, crustaceans.
Normally indifferent to divers, but can become aggressive when baited.
Mandarin Dragonet
Synchiropus splendidus
A member of the Callionymidae family found in small groups in sheltered silty coastal lagoons, amongst dense branching corals.
They feed on crustaceans and invertebrates and can reach 6 cm in length.
The mandarinfish is native to the Western Pacific ranging approximately from the Ryukyu Islands south to Australia.

The common name of the Mandarinfish comes from its extremely vivid colouration, evoking the robes of an Imperial Chinese mandarin.
Males have a taller more elaborate first dorsal fin which erects intermittently when moving around and for mating.
Every evening at sunset these beautiful fish rise up from the bottom to perform their dancing ritual before mating.
Titan Triggerfish
Balistoides viridescens
Titan is the second largest member of the Balistidae and can reach 75 cm in length, the stone triggerfish- Pseudobalistes naufragium, reaches 1 m.
They are found in lagoons and at reefs in most of the Indo-Pacific, though it is absent from Hawaii.
Their menu exist of shellfish, urchins, crustaceans and coral.

During the reproduction season the female guards her nest, which is placed in a flat sandy area, vigorously against any intruders.
The threat posture includes the triggerfish facing the intruder while holding her first dorsal spine errect and may roll onto her side, allowing her a better look at the intruder.
She will not always bite, but can swim at snorkellers and divers escorting them out of their territory.
Although bites are not venomous, the strong teeth can inflict serious injury that may require medical attention.
Banded Sea Krait
Laticauda colubrina
They are memebers of the Hydrophiidae or Elapidae and are widespread in the Indo-Pacific.
Unique among sea snakes since they are amphibious, able to live on land or in the ocean and need to drink freshwater.
Found in shallow tropical marine environments to a maximum depth of 10m where they feed on small fish and garden eels.
The male can reach 75cm and the female Krait 130 cm.

Unlike most sea snakes who bear their young live in the water, the banded sea krait lays her eggs on land.
They are air breathing so must surface for air, but they have a well adapted body;
an elongate cylindrical lung that extends to almost the entire length of their body, very efficient for gas exchange and allows them to spend almost 1 hour under water. They also carry out cutaneous respiration and have nostril valves that prevent water from entering the lung while they submerged.
A specialised glad under the tongue is used for salt excretion to avoid excess salt accumulation.
The venom of the sea krait is 10 times more toxic than that of a rattlesnake or Africa's deadly Black Mamba and affects both muscles and nerves.
They can produce up to 10-15 mg of venom, but only a fraction of the amount produced, 1.5 mg, is a lethal dose.
Although venomous these sea snakes have such small mouths they are not really a danger to divers.
Crown-of-Thorns
Acanthaster planci
They are star fish from the family Acanthasteridae commonly found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Unlike most sea stars the crown of thorns has up to 21 arms and can reach 40-80 cm in diameter.
Their body is covered in sharp venomous spines their colour varies from place to place.
They feed on corals, molluscs, worms and detritus.

Found singly or in groups on coral and rocky reefs amongst sand and rubble areas and in small quantities is just another part of the coral reef ecosystem.
When they occur in great numbers they can eat corals faster than corals can grow and reproduce, leading to major reductions in coral cover.
They climb onto the corals extrude their stomach over them, releasing digestive enzymes to break down the coral and then absorb the liquefied tissue.
This species is at least partly responsible for much loss of coral reefs.
Unfortunately they have very few predators, they include the Giant Triton, Humphead Wrasse and Pufferfish.
Sea Stars have remarkable regenerative powers, when attacked and damaged by predators they are able to grow new arms.
The term used for reproduction of the crown of thorns is spawning; a single female can produce up to 100 million eggs per year.
Bigfin Reef Squid
Sepioteuthis lessoniana
Common species of inshore squid found from the Hawaiian islands through the tropical Indo Pacific to the Red Sea.
These squids are sometimes mistaken for cuttlefish due to the large fin that surrounds their mantle; the “Sepio” in their scientific name refers to their cuttlefish like appearance.
Their bodies can grow up to 36cm.

Sepioteuthis are known for their visual communication, elaborate courtship displays, and size sorted schooling behavior.
Eggs are left stuck to any hard objects.
This warm watered squid is commonly used in biomedical research all over the world.
They can be easily transported overnight and are model organisms in neuroscience, physiological, nutrition, oncological and many other different kinds of research.
This species is chosen over other because it has an enlarged axon and rates of disease and cannibalism are extremely low.
Most people know of Sepioteuthis lessoniana as Calamari. Restaurants all over the world serve Calamari as both main dishes and as appetizers.
Cheek-line Wrasse
Oxycheilinus diagrammus
This wrasse of the family Labridae can reach a length of 35cm and is found in the Indo Pacific seen on coral and rocky reefs often swimming high above the bottom.

Wrasses have small protruding teeth and graze the bottom taking in a variety of snails, worms, crabs, shrimps and eggs.
Any hard coats or thick shells are then ground down by their pharyngeal jaws and the delicacies inside digested.
From juvenile to adult wrasses dramatically alter their colour and body shapes.
Wrasses are always on the go during the day, but are the first to go to sleep and the last to rise.
Small wrasses dive below the sand to sleep and larger wrasses wedge themselves in crevasses.
Midas blenny
Ecsenius midas
The Midas Blenny is found Near Maldives, Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba and southeast coast of Africa to Marquesas Islands.
They can be found living in groups on inner and outer reefs on coral slopes in depths between 2 and 40m.
They are able to change colour to match fish they are feeding with.
It grows to a size of 13 cm in length.

Its normal colour is golden orange but it can adapt its colour, mimicry, to match the colours of the fishes it mixes with.
When stressed, this fish will turn a light gray in colour, and can take a while to return to normal.
This Blenny likes to swim in the currents with Anthias, feeding on Zooplankton, but is also a planktivore.
Reef and rock blennies are usually territorial and have their own areas of rock pools which they skip and jump over, scraping algae from the surface of dead corals.
Males and females often have different colouring and features.
Weedy scorpionfish
Rhinopias frondosa
The weedy scorpionfish from the Scorpaenidae family has a highly compressed body and can reach a maximum length
of 23 cm.
It is a carnivorous ray-finned fish with venomous spines that lives in the Indian and Western Pacific oceans and are found in depths ranging from 13 to 90m.

They can vary considerably in colour which can range from dark red and purple to yellow and lavender, as well as appendages depending on its environment.
The variations differ so vastly that the specimens are often misidentified.
Like most Scorpaenidae, weedy scorpionfish are mostly nocturnal ambush hunters, masters of camouflage, enabling them to lie in wait for their victims to come close, before lunging forward and inhaling their prey with their large mouths.
They rarely swim, but rather move along the bottom propelling themselves with their fins.
When disturbed they raise the spines along their backs and will usually move off out of harms way, however, if cornered they are able to charge at considerable speed.
Highly dangerous and poisonous with venomous spines along its back.
Spotted porcupinefish
Diodon hystrix
This member of the family Diodontidae, also called Blowfish, ranges worldwide in tropical waters and some subtropical and temperate areas.
Found primarily in coral reefs and mangroves in depths between 5 and 100m.
They feed nocturnally on gastropod and bivalve molluscs and crabs.
Adult Diodon hystrix average between 20 to 50 cm, however, adults have been reported exceeding 90 cm.

Specializations of the jaw allow D. hystrix to crush protective shells, however its relatively slow swimming speed limits its prey to stationary or slow-moving organisms.
This fish, along with its close relatives, has the ability to inflate its body by taking water or air into portions of its digestive tract, increasing its diameter size by as much as three times.
When the body expands long spines, that normally lie flat on the body, are erected creating a formidable weaponry to discourage attack by most would-be predators.
There appears to be no nest building or protection provided by parents.
The female will release eggs just below the surface of the water which will be fertilize by four or five males.
The larvae live in pelagic waters until they reach about 16cm.