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The creatures
of the reef.
A growing field guide to the marine species divers encounter underwater — with real taxonomy, IUCN conservation status, identification notes, and honest writing about where to see them.
Sharks
Bull Shark
Carcharhinus leucas
Coastal waters, estuaries, and rivers. Uniquely tolerant of fresh water.
Great White Shark
Carcharodon carcharias
Coastal and offshore temperate and subtropical waters, from the surface to 1,200 meters.
Grey Reef Shark
Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Coral reefs, atoll channels, and drop-offs in the tropical Indo-Pacific.
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
Carcharhinus longimanus
Open ocean, typically in surface waters above 150 meters.
Scalloped Hammerhead
Sphyrna lewini
Open ocean, seamounts, and coastal waters in tropical and warm-temperate seas.
Whale Shark
Rhincodon typus
Open tropical and warm-temperate waters, often near the surface but descending to over 1,000 meters on feeding dives.
Rays
Fish
Common Clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
Lagoons and outer reef slopes of the western Pacific, always in symbiosis with host anemones.
Giant Moray Eel
Gymnothorax javanicus
Coral reefs and rocky crevices in the tropical Indo-Pacific.
Giant Trevally
Caranx ignobilis
Coastal reefs, lagoons, drop-offs and atoll channels; also open ocean.
Napoleon Wrasse
Cheilinus undulatus
Steep outer reef slopes, channels, and lagoons of tropical Indo-Pacific reefs.
Pygmy Seahorse
Hippocampus bargibanti
Exclusively on Muricella sea fans at 10-40 meters on coral reefs.
Red Lionfish
Pterois volitans
Coral reefs, rocky outcrops, and mangroves from 1 to 55 meters.
Cephalopods
Blue-ringed Octopus
Hapalochlaena maculosa
Shallow rocky reefs, tide pools, and sandy bottoms from the intertidal to 50 meters.
Common Octopus
Octopus vulgaris
Rocky reefs, rubble bottoms, and seagrass from the intertidal to 200 meters.
Giant Australian Cuttlefish
Sepia apama
Rocky and coral reefs of southern Australia, down to 100 meters.