He's a Hawksbill turtle.
Well I guess I don't know that.... it could be a she.
I don't know how to tell the difference.
If I go that route.... I will have to use "it" in the rest of my story.
And that, just seems wrong.... for a creature so majestic.
He's been to the surface.... and gotten the breath he needed.
And now he's headed back down to the deep.
That breath is going to last him a long time.... but how long, does depend on what he is doing while underwater.
It could be 20 minutes to 2 hours when he is active.... or 4-7 hours if he is resting or asleep.
There was a time when divers and swimmers thought it was great fun to grab onto a shell.... and hitch a ride.
That practice is very much frowned upon now.... and that's a good thing.
Just like us, a turtle that is trapped or panicked can lose their breath very quickly and drown.
I am reasonably (but not totally) sure that this is a Sargassum Swimming Crab.
The body color (golden) and the size (about 3") seem right.
But there are supposed to be a pair of rear legs.... that have developed into paddle-like appendages for swimming.
I didn't know about the special legs.... until well after I shot the pixture.
So it could be that we just don't see those legs.... so, take a better pixture next time.
Or it could be careful identification.... of the wrong species.
Like a lot of things.... an appreciation for what you are seeing underwater grows with time and repeated encounters.
In the beginning.... a Hermit Crab is just a shell with an interesting shape.
Then.... it's a shell that one day you see walking.
And then....it's the red speckled legs that catch your attention.
Until at last.... you discover, one very magical day, that they have blue eyes.
From that day on.... it's not really a good Hermit Crab encounter, unless you see the eyes.
At least until the day that you learn that they.....
