Brenna Johnson's scuba dive in Molasses Reef in United States, Key Largo, Fl - Diveboard

Brenna Johnson in Molasses Reef
United States Key Largo, FL Gulf of Mexico

Nº2 Date: 2013-10-13 - 13:30
Max Depth: 7m Duration: 52mins

Diver's Notes

Coral Ledge

Dive Profile

Pictures

No pictures for this dive

Dive type : Recreational
Visibility: Average

Recent Divers in Key Largo, FL

Recent Pictures in Key Largo, FL

Dive Shop & Buddies

Dive with Florida Keys Dive Center

Florida Keys Dive Center confirmed the dive with parameters: 7m / 52mins

Dive buddies: Amanda, Gavin, Jin

Link to this spot:

Spot:
Country:
Area:
Body of water:

Dive Profile

Data provided by EOL.org

Species Identified

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...
Read More

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...
Read More 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 .

Sphyraena barracuda (Edwards, 1771) (Alho)

Pomacanthus paru (Bloch, 1787) (French angelfish) Common in shallow reefs. Usually in pairs, often near sea fans . Feed on sponges, algae, bryozoans, zoantharians, gorgonians and tunicates . Oviparous , monogamous . Spawning pairs are strongly territorial, with usuall...
Read More

Aulostomus maculatus Valenciennes, 1841 (Caribbean trumpetfish) Commonly found in weedy areas and especially around reefs, where they usually swim snout-down among sea whips . A solitary ambusher of small fishes and crustaceans that lurk among branching coral or gorgonians. Often swi...
Read More

Ircinia felix (Duchassaing & Michelotti 1864)

Share on Social Networks

Facebook:
personalize your shared text as well as its destination (wall, page...) or send as a private message to a friend
Twitter: Tweet personalize your tweet
Google Plus: +1 and add a comment

Direct link to this dive

Long link:
Short link:

(...)

(...)

Loading...

What's up on Diveboard