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Dive type : Recreational
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Visibility: Average
Water: Salt
Recent Divers in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico
Recent Pictures in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834) (Duskey grouper)
The dusky grouper is a protogynous hermaphrodite, meaning that it matures as a female but later develops into a male as it grows larger and older . Sexual maturity is attained fairly late, when females are around five year...
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The dusky grouper is a protogynous hermaphrodite, meaning that it matures as a female but later develops into a male as it grows larger and older . Sexual maturity is attained fairly late, when females are around five years of age, while sex reversal of females into males takes place between the 9th and 16th year, peaking at 12 . The grouper usually leads a solitary and relatively sedentary life, except during the breeding season when small clusters of a few tens of individuals form at specific spawning sites . The spawning season in the Mediterranean is from June to September , mating is polygynous and aggregations generally have a female bias of around seven females to each male . During this period, dominant males establish territories and demonstrate strong territorial behaviour, acting aggressively towards neighbouring males and smaller females . The maximum reported age of a dusky grouper was about 50 years . Diet consists of crustaceans, molluscs and fish, with diet varying with body size . While younger, smaller groupers feed primarily on crustaceans, larger individuals feed on a greater proportion of fish, with the majority being reef-associated species .
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 .
Carcharhinus leucas (Müller and Henle, 1839) (Bullshark)
The biology of the bull shark is still little known but it shows extraordinary physiological adaptations that allow it to persist in both freshwater and saltwater. Bull sharks have been captured in places you would never ...
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The biology of the bull shark is still little known but it shows extraordinary physiological adaptations that allow it to persist in both freshwater and saltwater. Bull sharks have been captured in places you would never imagine a shark to be found; in the foothills of the Peruvian Andes, 3,700 kilometres up the Amazon River; and in Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. However, the bull shark may not be able to complete its entire life cycle in freshwater, and all sharks in freshwater require access to saltwater through rivers and estuaries . Its swims slowly and heavily, usually near the bottom, concealing its surprising agility and speed employed when attacking prey , and deceiving one into believing this may not be one of the most dangerous species of tropical shark, as it is frequently cited . Along with the great white and tiger shark the bull shark is responsible for the most accidents involving people ; a result of its tendency to take large prey and the proximity of its habitat to the activities of humans . The bull shark's broad and varied diet includes bony fishes, other shark species , sea turtles, birds, dolphins, and terrestrial mammals . The bull shark is viviparous, giving birth to 1 to 13 young in each litter after a pregnancy of 10 to 11 months . The female gives birth in late spring and early summer in both hemispheres, in estuaries, river mouths, and very occasionally in freshwater lakes . Mating takes place at the same time of the year but it is unknown where exactly as it has never been directly observed .
Heteroconger canabus (Cowan & Rosenblatt, 1974) (garden-eel)
Heteroconger hassi (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959) (Spotted garden-eel)
Often found on sandy slopes below 15 m; withdraws into its burrow when approached. Usually in colonies containing up to several hundred individuals.
Often found on sandy slopes below 15 m; withdraws into its burrow when approached. Usually in colonies containing up to several hundred individuals.
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Mexico
Date: 2015-11-07 - 10:00
Max Depth: 14.3m Duration: 47mins
