I went through some old dive pics. Are you in the oldies? Ok, yes, for me a year ago is old dive pictures. But hey, I had fun looking through them and picking some out for this post. So Brad, what number are you now?
I haven't seen this guy down there in a long time. 
I see these guys down there fairly often, though. 
Mean looking and pretty at the same time. 
Hmm - I think the word is funky for this guy. 
Awesome and friendly, I always enjoy seeing the turtles. 
Cross cultural connection. 
Mr. Ugly. But don't judge a book (fish) by his cover. He could have a really nice personality. I'm not risking it however. 
Saipan Diver. This guy comes up for air - sometimes, but not as often as most. 
Do you recognize this pretty diver with the pink fins? Clue - she had a recent close encounter with a shark. 
Somebody is home, but door is shut. 
Underwater fin thief. 
Octopus giving a hug. 
Life is good. Hope this post made you smile today. 
4 comments:
Hey, Kelli,
On Brad's blog you asked whether the fish you posted was a stonefish or scorpionfish. The "Mr. Ugly" shot is a scorpionfish. Scorpionfish far outnumber true stonefish here, so if you see one and are not sure, you are more likely to be correct to call it a scorpion. In fact, in all the years I have dived here, I have only seen maybe 5 true stonefish. Typical scorpionfish have mouths which face forward, as your "Mr. Ugly" does. Stonefish tend to be more "hog" shaped in their bodies, and their mouths open vertically, or sometimes actually a little backward. Difficult to explain in words, but if you think of some of the old "landing crafts" with the hinged front which opened to allow vehicles out. Imagine one where the front "door" is either straight up-and-down or actually slants slightly such that the top of the door is slightly further back than is the bottom, and you pretty much have a design resembling a stonefish. I'll do my best to get some photos on Brad's blog before too long, but it won't be today or tomorrow.
Oh, there are some scorpionfish which have NEARLY vertical mouth openings (Diablo, or Devil Scorpionfish are pretty common here), so it can be tricky, but there are none that I am aware of where the mouth is totally vertical, as is the stone fish's.
Oh, I also have a website now on which I plan to have a lot of this kind of stuff (ID stuff) fairly soon (within weeks). I'll wait to give you the name until I get more of that done, because right now if you look at it all you will see is vacation stuff of mine. So.....more to come!
Mark R
OK, if you are interested in learning how to tell the difference between scorpionfish and stonefish (as per your comment on Brad's blog), look at the following link (you may need to copy and paste it):
http://optimimagery.smugmug.com/gallery/7934566_squYR/1/515598376_RsLwG
Expect more fun stuff to appear on the Optimimagery website with time. For now, I hope that you find the above fish I.D. album interesting and helpful. But be forewarned: There is a test at the end!
Hey Kelli! I haven't updated my logbook in about a month and half...but I was around 215 then...so I must be around 240 or 250 now. You've probably passed me!
Brad - nope, I'm only at about 134 I think.
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