-
Nº9
Date: 2012-09-23 - 05:40
-
Max Depth: 8m Duration: 40mins
-
Dive type : recreational, Aquarium
-
Temp: Bottom 26°C
-
Visibility: Excellent
Water: Salt
Recent Divers in Orlando, FL
Recent Pictures in Orlando, FL
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
Chelonia mydas Linnaeus 1758 (Green Turtle)
Green turtles are long-lived and may take up to 59 years to reach sexual maturity Undertaking tremendous feats of navigation, adults return to the same beach to breed each season, part of the population in Brazil astonish...
Read More
Green turtles are long-lived and may take up to 59 years to reach sexual maturity Undertaking tremendous feats of navigation, adults return to the same beach to breed each season, part of the population in Brazil astonishingly migrates around 2,250 kilometres across the open ocean to breed on the Ascension Islands . Mating tends to occur just offshore of the nesting beaches; using a curved claw on each front flipper and a flat nail at the end of the tail, males are able to grip their mates . Females haul out onto the beach at night and dig large nests with their back flippers beyond the high tide mark, they typically lay between 100 and 150 eggs in one nest and then proceed to cover the eggs with sand; the whole process takes around two hours . A single female returns to breed only once every two to five years but will lay up to nine nests in that one season . Incubation takes between 45 and 70 days, and temperature has been shown to determine of the sex of hatchlings; with females being produced at warmer temperatures . Breaking open their eggs with a special hooked 'egg tooth' that will subsequently be lost; hatchlings use their powerful front flippers to reach the surface, and then proceed to the sea . The soft-bodied juveniles are particularly vulnerable at this time from a variety of predators, such as ghost crabs and gulls on the beach to sharks and dolphins in the water . Unlike other marine turtles, adult green turtles are almost exclusively herbivorous, grazing on seagrasses and algae ; it is assumed that juveniles are more omnivorous although the exact composition of their diet is unknown
Myliobatis aquila (Linnaeus, 1758) (Common eagle ray)
Found in shallow lagoons , bays and estuaries; also offshore down to at least 95 m . Often found in groups . Feeds on benthic crustaceans, mollusks and fish. Ovoviviparous . Gestation period of 6-8 months, the females ...
Read More
Found in shallow lagoons , bays and estuaries; also offshore down to at least 95 m . Often found in groups . Feeds on benthic crustaceans, mollusks and fish. Ovoviviparous . Gestation period of 6-8 months, the females give birth to 3-7 young . Caught by shore and ski-boat anglers, usually released after capture . Flesh is highly esteemed .
Carcharhinus perezii (Poey, 1876) (Caribbean reef shark)
Found on continental and insular shelves, often near drop-offs on the outer edges of reefs. May rest on the bottom . Usually found in reefs, at less than 30 m deep . Feed on bony fishes, including bigeyes . Viviparous...
Read More
Found on continental and insular shelves, often near drop-offs on the outer edges of reefs. May rest on the bottom . Usually found in reefs, at less than 30 m deep . Feed on bony fishes, including bigeyes . Viviparous . Size at birth below 73 cm. A dangerous species implicated in an abortive attack on divers in the Caribbean. Meat is prepared dried salted for human consumption, hides for leather, liver for oil, carcasses for fish meal.
Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758) (Smooth hammerhead shark)
Known for their spectacular schooling behaviour, the smooth hammerhead gathers into these large groups as juveniles, but as adults they occur singly or in small groups. They hunt for bony fish, small sharks and stingrays a...
Read More
Known for their spectacular schooling behaviour, the smooth hammerhead gathers into these large groups as juveniles, but as adults they occur singly or in small groups. They hunt for bony fish, small sharks and stingrays and are known to be cannibalistic on occasion. When inshore, their diet consists mainly of skates and stingrays. Pinning their prey down with the hammer, the smooth hammerhead bites chunks from the wings of the stingray until it is immobilised. It is not unusual to see hammerheads with the barbs from stingrays implanted into their heads. In deeper waters they may also feed on crustaceans and cephalopods. In northern Europe, the smooth hammerhead eats mainly herring and bass, and in the Mediterranean, it is known to scavenge from longline fisheries. Other large shark species may prey on juvenile smooth hammerheads, but adults have no natural predators . The hammer-shaped head is thought to be a mechanism to spread out the ampullae of Lorenzini – sensory organs that detect electric currents, chemicals in the water, and temperature changes . During an 11 – 12 month gestation, the eggs of the smooth hammerhead hatch inside the female's body. The embryos are nourished by a yolk sac placenta and during the summer months, once the yolk sac has been used, between 20 and 40 young sharks hatch. Measuring just 0.5 m at birth, males and females reach maturity at 2.1 – 2.5 m and 2.7 m respectively . The smooth hammerhead migrates northward during the summer to find cooler water. When overheating, it can be seen swimming slowly at the surface with the dorsal fin out of the water .
All the data in this dive will be erased (profile, notes, fish list...) and cannot be recovered. Are you sure?
You need to select at least one dive to import your dives in Diveboard.
Andrea
United States
Dived with
The Living Seas, Epcot Center Dive Dept
