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Temp: Surf 0°C Bottom 0°C
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Dive type : Recreational, Drift, Reef
Recent Divers in Key Largo
Recent Pictures in Key Largo
Dive Profile
- 1. Nitrox 30
- 2x10L Aluminium
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- Average depth: 5.5m
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
Ginglymostoma cirratum (Bonnaterre, 1788) (Nurse shark)
During the day the nurse shark is a sluggish animal, spending most of its time resting on sandy bottoms, or in crevices in rocks and coral reefs. Often several nurse sharks may congregate when resting, sometimes even pili...
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During the day the nurse shark is a sluggish animal, spending most of its time resting on sandy bottoms, or in crevices in rocks and coral reefs. Often several nurse sharks may congregate when resting, sometimes even piling on top of one another . At night however, the nurse shark actively roams the sea bottom and reef for prey. It feeds on bottom invertebrates such as spiny lobsters, shrimps, crabs, sea urchins, squid and octopi . It is also feeds on fish, its nocturnal nature enabling it to prey on resting fish that would be too active during the day to capture . The nurse shark's small mouth and large pharynx enable it to feed by a unique suction method, effectively making the nurse shark the 'hoover' of the ocean floor. By cupping its mouth over a hole or crevice and expanding its throat, it creates a vacuum that sucks prey out of their hiding . This suction-feeding is also useful for extracting snails from their shells , and it will dig in sand to root out prey sensed by its fleshy barbels . The nurse shark is one of few sharks in which courtship behaviour is relatively well known . The male swims alongside the female, grabs one of the pectoral fins in his mouth, rolls her over and they mate . A large number of males will often try to mate with a single female, and females often bear numerous bite-scars and bruises received during mating attempts. It is therefore not surprising that females frequently try to avoid males by swimming in very shallow water, where they can bury their pectoral fins in the sand . Nurse sharks are ovoviviparous , a method of reproduction whereby the young develop inside a weakly-formed egg shell within the mother, receiving nourishment from their yolk sac, for five to six months . The females move to shallow seagrass beds and coral reefs to give birth to 20 to 30 pups in late spring and summer . Like many sharks the nurse shark is slow growing, with males not reaching maturity until 10 to 15 years of age, and females 15 to 20 years .
Gymnothorax funebris Ranzani, 1839 (Green cong)
A benthic and solitary species occurring along rocky shorelines, reefs, and mangroves .Usually found shallower than 30 m . Due to its large size and aggressiveness, the bites of this moray are particularly dangerous . F...
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A benthic and solitary species occurring along rocky shorelines, reefs, and mangroves .Usually found shallower than 30 m . Due to its large size and aggressiveness, the bites of this moray are particularly dangerous . Feeds mainly at night on fish and crustaceans . Marketed fresh and salted . Large individuals are ciguatoxic .
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 ...
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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 .
Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822) (Giant grouper)
The goliath grouper may be solitary or occur in groups of up to 50 or more individuals. Home range appears limited and the fish produces a booming sound when threatened by divers or large sharks. Variations of these voca...
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The goliath grouper may be solitary or occur in groups of up to 50 or more individuals. Home range appears limited and the fish produces a booming sound when threatened by divers or large sharks. Variations of these vocalizations also undoubtedly have intraspecific communicative properties . During the breeding season from July through September, goliath groupers gather together at breeding sites in groups of 100 individuals or more, for periodic spawning. The fertilised eggs are scattered in the water column of the ocean and develop into kite-shaped larvae with long dorsal fin spines and pelvic fin spines . About a month or more after hatching, the larvae mature into juveniles of just 2.5 cm long and settle preferentially into mangrove habitat . These fish are very long-lived with a slow growth rate and late sexual maturation. Males begin breeding at four to six years and females mature at six to seven years. However, if goliath grouper are like most other groupers, they may undergo a sex-change part way through life, starting out as a female and becoming males at some later time, but this has never been observed in this species . Goliath groupers feed on crustaceans, such as spiny lobsters, shrimps and crabs as well as fish including stingrays and parrotfish, in addition to octopuses and young sea turtles. Despite having teeth, the fish engulfs its prey and swallows it whole. Before the goliath grouper reaches full-size it is susceptible to the attack of barracuda, king mackerel and moray eels, as well as sandbar sharks and hammerhead sharks . Once fully grown, humans and large sharks are the goliath grouper's only predator .
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Azchipka
United States
Date: 2011-07-14 - 14:12
Max Depth: 8.4m Duration: 108mins
Dive with Silent World
Dive buddies:
Richardm
