Decorator Crab- Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
854
Decorator crabs belong to the superfamily Majoidea and are also commonly known as Spider Crabs.  They obtain their name from their habit of decorating their bodies with various plants and animals. This can ...
Marine Flatworms in the Turbellaria sub division of Platyhelminthes

Marine Flatworms-Facts-Photographs and Video

Alan Sutton
1378
Marine Platyhelminthes or Marine Flatworms as they are commonly known are often extremely colorful creatures. The brightly colored species are easy to spot while diving and if one is lucky, one can see them...
Textile cone Conus textile is also known as the cloth of gold cone

Stinging Sea Creatures-Textile Cone Shell

Alan Sutton
212
, The Textile cone shell Conus textile is also known as the cloth of gold cone shell. As with all the cone shells, they are carnivorous and predatory, preying on other mollusks.  In order to quickly disable ...
Porcelain Anemone Crab, Neopetrolisthes maculosus

Porcelain Anemone Crab- Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
1598
The Porcelain Anemone Crab, Neopetrolisthes maculatus is also known as the Spotted porcelain crab. They are decapod crustaceans in the Porcellanidae family. Although they resemble true crabs they are actual...
Flower urchin,Toxopneustes pileolus

Stinging Sea Creatures-Flower Urchin

Alan Sutton
1070
  The Flower urchin, Toxopneustes pileolus may look pretty but it is not something to be touched.  When scuba divers are given their dive briefing and warned to only leave bubbles and not to touch o...
Durban Dancing Shrimp - Rhynchocinetes durbanensis

Durban Dancing Shrimp- Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
386
The Durban Dancing Shrimp (Rhynchocinetes durbanensis) is also known as the camel shrimp, camelback shrimp, candy shrimp and the hingebeak prawn.  They obtain the dancing part of their  name from the sidewa...
bigfin reef squid or oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana

Bigfin Reef Squid- Facts Photographs and Video

Alan Sutton
875
The Bigfin reef squid, (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) is also known as the Oval squid. They obtain their name from the fin which almost completely circles their body.  This gives them a superficial resemblance t...
laced moray (Gymnothorax favagineus) also known as the leopard moray,

Honeycomb Moray Eel-Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
3043
The Honeycomb moray (Gymnothorax favagineus) also known as the leopard or laced moray is one of the larger more attractive morays. APPEARANCE The Honeycomb moray eel is a light whitish brown to yellow...
zebra moray, Gymnomuraena zebra, a species of moray eel in the family Muraenidae

Zebra Moray Eel- Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
1685
The zebra moray, Gymnomuraena zebra as its name implies is a dark colored moray with white stripes. They are one of the more reclusive moray eels. As they are nocturnal they are not commonly seen. APPEARAN...
tiger angelfish Aploemichthys kingi

Tiger Angelfish – Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
309
The tiger angelfish Aploemichthys kingi is one of the lesser known angelfish. As their name implies they are quite striking fish and are highly sought after by specialist marine aquarists. APPEARANCE On t...
giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus)

Giant Moray Eel-Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
2698
The Giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) is the largest moray eel in terms of mass. An adult has a formidable set of rear facing teeth to go with its proportionally large mouth. As can be seen in the images,...
tiger cowrie (Cypraea tigris) 

The Tiger Cowrie – Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
1814
The tiger cowrie (Cypraea tigris) is one of the larger species of cowrie. They are marine snails in the family Cypraeidae. They are an extremely attractive sight as they move across the reef. They are noctu...
Aglaophenia cupressina stinging hydroid fire weed

Stinging Sea Creatures-Fireweed

Alan Sutton
3206
It may look like a plant, but Aglaophenia cupressina is actually a stinging hydroid. Commonly known as feather fireweed, fire hydroid, stinging seaweed or simply fireweed. Brush against it and you might not...
Jellyfish or Sea Jellies Upside down jelly Cassiopea andromeda

Jellyfish or Sea Jellies which is correct ?

Seaunseen
1
3618
Despite the name, Jellyfish are not fish and the term is not scientifically appropriate. Many scientists are beginning to refer to them as jellies or sea jellies in a similar fashion to the name change occurr...
Bluebottle Portuguese man of war bloublasie sting

Bluebottles – Stings and All You Need to Know

Seaunseen
1
6611
The Bluebottle, (Indo-Pacific) Portuguese man of war, bloublasie and sometimes mistakenly called the bluebottle jellyfish, gets its names from its float. The float resembles a bottle or an old Portuguese ma...
Mole Crabs- Sea Lice-Genus Emerita

Mole Crabs – Facts and Photographs

Alan Sutton
4249
Mole crabs of the genus Emerita, also known as sea lice, sand fleas or sand crabs, are small crabs that are seldom seen, except perhaps when their shells are washed up on a beach. They spend the majority of t...

Diving on Mafia Island, Tanzania

Seaunseen
3
1089
Whale shark off Mafia Island  PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN SUTTON Mafia Island is situated  25 km from mainland Tanzania and is approximately 130 kilometers south east of Dar es Salaam. The island is 48 kilometers ...
crowned jellyfish (Cephea cephea)

Crowned Jellyfish

Seaunseen
1
4393
The crowned jellyfish (Cephea cephea) is also known as the crown jellyfish or cauliflower jellyfish. It is normally found in the open oceans in the indo pacific area. It gets its name from the cauliflower-l...