Smmcdonald
Costa Rica
-
Nº90
Date: 2016-09-12 - 14:40
-
Max Depth: 18.2m Duration: 45mins
Dive Location
- Temp: Surf 27°C Bottom 27°C
- Dive type : Recreational
- Visibility: Average Water: Salt
Specific gear used
- Weights: 4.5 kg
Recent Divers in Playa Ocotal, Guanacaste
Link to this spot:
- Spot:
- Country:
- Area:
- Body of water:
Dive Profile
- 1. Air
- 10L Aluminium 203 → 19 bar
- Average depth: 12.5m
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
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:
Direct link to this dive
- Long link:
- Short link:
We are participating today in the startup contest Techcrunch Disrupt. Support Diveboard by voting for us!
Our third dive of the day was located off the point that made up the west border of Playa Ocotal, about half way between our earlier dives and Playa Hermosa.
Diving in, I noticed the water was more turbid and visibility lower than at Tiburones. Our first notable sighting was of a spiny lobster. I'm not sure of the species, but it was similar in size and appearance to the lobsters we see in south Florida and the Caribbean. Next came a scorpionfish, and then another species of moray eel. This one was green in color, with yellow spots ringed in dark olive green which covered its body from nose to tail. The dorsal fin along its body was considerably larger than other species relative to its body size, and the spots were present there as well. The eyes were bluish-grey. My best guess is that this was a jewel moray eel, and the fourth (at least) species I have seen today.
Our guide pointed to a small hole in a boulder. At first I thought he was pointing out a sea urchin that seemed to bore its way into the rock, but on closer inspection I saw two yellow cleaner shrimp.
A particular species of starfish has become a common site on these dives, but I have yet to point it out. They are rather large, with long, thick arms and a relatively small body. They are cream in color, with two broad bands of greenish brown running the entire length of each arm. A similar colored ring is located at the center of the body. Between the bands, blue tightly packed spots of bright blue run from the center ring to the tip of each arm. A single row toward the center, the spots split into two rows toward the tips, and become somewhat mottled. I later identified these as the species Phataria unifascialis, commonly known as the blue star, or tan star.