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Temp: Surf 32°C Bottom 29°C
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Dive type : Recreational, Training, Reef
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Visibility: Good
Water: Salt
Specific gear used
- BCD: Mares -
- Computer: Mares - Puck
- Fins: Mares - Volo Race
- Regulator: Hollis - 221, 321
- Mask: Scubapro - Solo
- Compass: Tabata / Tusa - Triple Gauge
- Weights: 4 kg
Recent Divers in South Ari Atoll
Recent Pictures in South Ari Atoll
Dive Profile
- 1. Air
- 0L Steel
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- Average depth: 9.4m
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 .
Scarus perrico Jordan and Gilbert, 1882 (Bumphead parrotfish)
Triaenodon obesus (Rüppell, 1837) (Whitetip reef shark)
Despite its docile nature during the day this nocturnal shark can become aggressive when hunting at night, thrashing through coral reefs looking for potential prey. The whitetip reef shark usually hunts alone, but is non-t...
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Despite its docile nature during the day this nocturnal shark can become aggressive when hunting at night, thrashing through coral reefs looking for potential prey. The whitetip reef shark usually hunts alone, but is non-territorial and will occasionally work in cooperation with others in the pursuit of prey . Feeding primarily on bottom-dwelling octopus, lobsters, crabs and bony fish, it often chases its prey into a crevice before jamming its body in after it, sealing the exit . The extremely posterior location of the first dorsal fin compared to those of other sharks is an adaptation to this feeding habit, which allows them to get their heads and mouths much further into the gaps and holes in the coral . The whitetip reef shark's mating season varies with location . Reproduction is viviparous and after a gestation period of around a year the female will give birth to one to five live pups, which are completely independent at birth . Both sexes reach sexual maturity at approximately 5 years old, and it is estimated that this species can live to an age of 25 years .
Carcharhinus melanopterus (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) (blacktip reef shark)
This powerful swimmer is well known for its tendency to enter incredibly shallow water, and is often found in water only 30 centimetres deep or less, with its distinctive dorsal fin protruding from the surface of the water...
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This powerful swimmer is well known for its tendency to enter incredibly shallow water, and is often found in water only 30 centimetres deep or less, with its distinctive dorsal fin protruding from the surface of the water. It is also found near the bottom or in mid-water in deeper water, singly or in small groups . It feeds on a wide variety of small fish and invertebrates, including mullet, groupers, wrasses, cuttlefish, squid, shrimp . Blacktip reef sharks are viviparous, and therefore the embryos develop inside the mother, for about 16 months. Females generally give birth between late winter and early summer, to between two and four pups . However, reproductive cycles appear to vary throughout the blacktip reef shark's range, with reports of annual, biannual and biennial reproductive cycles . The blacktip reef shark is not an extremely dangerous species, although it is responsible for several provoked and unprovoked attacks on humans. Many are on people that are swimming or wading on reefs, presumably because they were mistaken for small prey. These sharks are more cautious when encountering divers and can usually be driven off .
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Leah Bishop
Maldives
Date: 2021-10-10 - 15:11
Max Depth: 15.5m Duration: 52mins
Dive with Dive Oceanus Sun Island
Dive buddies:
David 'dibs' Bishop
Check Dive, Sun Island House Reef
Tawny Nurse Shark