BlennyWatcher

The ocean’s most eligible bachelor or just another blenny having a big hair day? Normally rather drab in color, this male Hairy Blenny is in his nuptial colors, hoping to attract a female.

For fishwatchers, a common name that matches a distinctive physical characteristic of the fish makes identification a snap if you're able to maneuver for a close look. In this case, the cirri above the eyes and on its nape are thick and hair-like. Now we see how they got their common name.

Denizens of shallow rocky shorelines, Hairy Blennies, are found on both sides of the Atlantic, from Bermuda, throughout the Caribbean and down to Brazil. They’re among the largest of the blennies, sometimes reaching 22 cm (almost 9”) in length.

📸 ⁠ Bonaire 2016

We're very proud to be supporting REEF Reef Environmental Education Foundation!

REEF in Action: Marine Conservation Interns Hailey and Mary package up limited-edition sets of 8 notecards (featuring stunning fish images taken by REEF Co-Founder Ned DeLoach) to send out to donors.
REEF campus, Key Largo, FL
[Photo by Maddie Brownfield]

Ned didn't understand why Ben Sarinda, called him back down, insistent that he take a photo of what looked like a half-inch shell. Ben didn’t understand why Ned only took one shot then went back to the boat (low on air, he says). “Shrimp! It was a shrimp!” declared Ben, back on the boat. It wasn’t until Ned downloaded the image that he saw the eye and orange legs … it was a shrimp. The Shell Mimic Shrimp, Vercoia interrupta, described four years earlier by Kim & Fujita, 2004. ⁠⁠During four years of gathering images for the Reef Creature Tropical Pacific book, Ned encouraged our team to "look everywhere, with new eyes, for animals we didn't know existed". This little mimic was out in the open, fooling most of us, a reminder of how many secrets the sea holds.⁠⁠
⁠⁠📸 2008 night dive, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia⁠⁠