Best of Mike #119

One of the prettier things that we see with regularity on the reef is.... a Vase Sponge.

Generally purple in color with a translucent quality that seems to make them glow.

Shaped like a vase, with many pits and grooves on the outside, they grow to be as much as 18" tall.

This animal.... yup I said animal. Is an aggregation of cells without any backbone (that makes it an invertebrate) or organs, that feeds by filtering water thru their bodies and eating the particles suspended in that water.

Predators do not eat them because they lack nutrition.... and their bodies contain glass like shards (called spicules) that make them pretty unpalatable.

I have gotten in the habit of looking down into each sponge, as I swim by.... 9 times out of 10 there is nothing to see.

But every once in a while, you get a surprise.... in this case a Hermit Crab.

Best of Mike #118

A Spotted Cleaner Shrimp and a Giant Anemone.... a pretty common site on the reefs of Bonaire.

But I have always thought that this particular Shrimp, looked up to see me coming down the reef.

Then when the timing was just right, stepped out from between the tentacles of the Anemone.

I am thinking that I might have even heard him say.... this will make a nice pixture.

Best of Mike #117

What looks, for all the world, like a mass of creepy earthworms.... is in fact a Basket Star.

They are a nocturnal hunter, so they spend the day retracted and bundled.

Usually, they are hidden somewhere amidst rocks and coral.

But in this case, because it chose to retract between the branches of Sea Rod, we get a rare and good look at their daytime state.

They are in the same family as the much more familiar Sea Stars and the Brittle Star.... so they have 5 arms.

But in the case of the Basket Star, each of those arms can have many more branches growing from it.

They can grow to weigh as much as 11 lbs with the ability to stretch out to more than 2ft in length.

They position themselves directly in the flow of a strong current of water and unfurl their branching arms to filter, snag and pluck their next meal from the water's flow.

The Basket Star captures it's prey with a rapid flexing movement of the arm.... first encircling it and then securing it with the tiny sharp hooks that line each arm.

From there, the meal is moved inward toward the Basket Star's mouth, which is located on the lower surface of the center disk, that is it's main body.

Best of Mike #116

I love to watch a turtle swim.

Such casual grace... and a tremendous economy of effort.

Looks so much more like flying than swimming.

But they are the natural in that environment and we are not.... so all to soon they are gone.

Best of Mike #115

Trumpetfish are most commonly a reddish brown color.... but can be blue-gray, bright yellow and many shades in between.

They are stealth hunters, so they often change color and body position to blend into the background.

It is not uncommon at all to see them drifting in a head down posture.... and they often attempt to blend in by paralleling the stalks of sea rods.

Best of Mike #114

Normally, shy and reclusive, especially during the day, it was an special treat to find this nocturnal hunter, sitting atop a coral head and surveying his surroundings in the middle of the day.

He is a Batwing Coral Crab.

If you look closely above his eyes, you will see the markings on this shell that give him his name.

The carapace is smooth and heavy. He has no teeth, expect for a blunt one at the lower right and left corners of his mouth.

This crab's basic color is pale to brick red with scarlet spots, some irregular white lines and yellow spots. The ends of their legs and claws, tend to be darker in color.

They commonly grow to be about 5 inches across their shell but occasionally are reported to be much larger.... this guy was one of those occasional ones. Maybe as much as twice the average size.

Best of Mike #113

I love where I live.... in the high desert, right next to the mountains.

But they left out one feature, when they designed this paradise ... an ocean.

You just don't get these kind of sunsets.... if they don't happen over water.

Best of Mike #112

From time to time, we come across a turtle that looks like they are caught in the coral.

I have come to learn that this is nothing more than being intent upon the job at hand .... getting a meal.

But this was the first time I saw it and I have to tell you I was worried.

This guy, a Green Sea Turtle was all worked in to this piece of coral in kind of a head down, gravity working against him manner.

Which really led me to believe that he couldn't get out.

As I snapped a few pixtures.... Linda swam around him trying to figure out how we were going to help.

But once he had had enough of us and well before we came up with any kind of plan ... he backed himself out, a little awkwardly but completely without our help and swam away.

I am sure he was muttering to himself.... "damn tourists, I swear, one more diver tries to help me while I'm doing nothing more than getting a meal and somebody is going to get bit".