Today's Apocalypse Sign: More Of Spongebob's World

I thought I would share a few more of my wife's underwater photo results. These are a couple things that you need to watch out for when diving. They look harmless enough but both can put a hurt on ya that you don't want. These shots are from her Bahamas trip in June of 09. She was having some trouble with her strobe that trip and was a little bummed she didn't get more and better shots, but these turned out okay.

The underwater world is not all the cartoon that Spongebob makes it out to be...have a look: (enlarge for best viewing)

Long-Spined Urchin
Effect on divers: Spines easily puncture the skin and break off in the flesh
causing a painful wound. The embedded spines give off a purple dye, causing
a slight discoloration under the skin. Treat are for infection; embedded spines
will dissolve within a few days. Victim with numerous wounds may need
treatment for shock. These mothers hurt!!! 

We believe we have identified this as a Goldentail Moray Eel. They are extremely
hard to photograph well due to the fact they are usually hiding in crevices of the reef.
Patience and a steady hand is the best way to be rewarded with a photo. Usually
requires many shots to get some thing decent.

These eels are not normally aggressive but do have teeth and a fairly
strong bite. You can lose a finger if you approach too close and they choose
to not retreat into the reef.

 

Just hanging out

Now the Green Moray Eel looks little more menacing here. This one
actually was about 4 feet long and swam straight for my wife! Freaked
her out a bit I might say. A customer of hers is missing a finger from when
he foolishly reached out to touch one. They bite and do not let go!