Where is your buddy blue-eyed?

One more fish doing tricks to me. The species of the family Synodontidae are supposed to swim in couples, making an excellent portrait for photography as they sit side by side. Unfortunately, on my last dive I met that blue-eyed guy again alone. I hope that it is just a strangeness for this Mediterranean representative of the family and not a result of overfishing. Lizard fish as they are called are excellent at ambushing their victims. They can bury in sand for that purpose. His large mouth can catch very big fishes almost the same weight as him. His Greek name is Skarmos and means rowlock. This is due to the shape of its body and also to the fact that during his rigor mortis his body is so tough that it can be use as a real rowlock.
The photo is from my beloved beach of apothika in Chios island and taken in September at 5m of depth while i was free diving.

The snail that lost its' shell

- The time has come to start showing the snails that have evolved, abandoning their shell in their adult life. A hard cover protects from hungry predators, but these cute creatures evolved spectacular camouflage or chemical warfare for protection. This particular slug was frightened by me so it retracted its' rhinophores-sensory organs and gills (hole in the back of the picture). They can vary greatly in color within the Med, depending on what sponge they feast upon! They are common in Greece so keep your eye out!

A lower-higher level of the food chain!!!

The fire worm is really a charismatic marine species! People may admire a lot of animals like the powerful sharks and marlins and condemn other animals like the worms because they seem to be so weak. Fire worms are not weak; one of the first things that I learnt when I started fishing with hooks at my childhood is not to leave the bait move for a long time. If you do so, fireworks will get it and you don't want to have any contact with those worms. I was lucky enough and this animal never harmed me (this is really strange!!!) but as it is known it has thousands of hard bristles that if they touch your skin you will feel a burning sensation for many days. That's why no marine animals ever eat a fire worm. On the other hand fire worms eat almost everything, even sea anemones. They are also the most successful scavengers in a lot of areas. For scavenging it is believed that they use the organ they have on their head. It is believed that it's something that helps for good smell. (the one that looks like a brain at the first photo). You can find hundreds of them over a dead fish body, just ten minutes after you throw it in the sea. At the second photo you can see a lesson in knots!!!!

sex in the sea

-This is the time of loving in Marmaras Harbour-Chalkidiki, orgies of Bursatella leachi to be seen everywhere in different colorations.
-We dived in every corner of the harbour, but they seemed to prefer the muddier-dirtier parts.
-Dirty sex!!!!
-Loving World Ocean Day-June 8th

a Pendulum count the time for resurrection?

I lived almost three years by the sea of the southern part of North Euboic gulf. Although Euboic may means something like “nice living” for a snorkeler is not a good “nice living” area. Probably polluted as no other place n Greece the area is adrift of the careless citizens for environmental matters that live there. Some species had succeeded to survive and reproduce in these hazardous waters. Like this sponge (probably Chondrosia reniformis) by hanging reminds me the time that passes. Counting in that the picture takes beyond one of the most popular places of the area (politika lighthouse) makes a big symbolic icon to me. I hope and to you.

The marble hermit crab.

Crabs like this can run with unexpectedly quickness for Hermit crab like the one above.

It seems that it tastes good.

Most crabs are very possessive about the area that they living. That crabs prefer live at high populations in small areas and fight each other all day. In the photo above the two big ones fight while the small watching.

They also burried under the sand for cover. They have different sized claws and the one seems to be very big for their body size. They seem to pull the big claw like a torture.

All photos taken at Kolimpithres Paros at May09