The Hawaiian Bobtail Squid, Euprymna scolopes, has a clever way of duping predators during its nightly activities.

It uses a symbiotic luminescent bacteria, Vibrio fischeri, to light up its underside, so that upwards-looking predators don’t see a dark, edible form silhouetted against a moonlit or starlit sky. Instead, hungry sharks or other fish see only sky. The squid is invisible.

See here for photos and more: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=13748095621

Pacific Seahorse, Hippocampus Ingens

Underwater photographer Scott Gietler spent many hours looking for this little guy.

Many thanks to Scott for permission to post this!

See here for more: http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/pacific-seahorse-photos

SYDNEY, Australia — In a remarkable new finding, scientists have reported that certain coral reef fish use ultraviolet (UV) vision to tell the difference between their own and other similar species.

Indeed, the otherwise rather plain-looking Ambon damselfish may even be able to recognize individuals by their faces, in much the same way as humans do, the researchers say in a paper in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology.

The UV vision may act as a secret channel of communication because it is invisible to the fishes’ predators, the researchers speculate.

“We observed that certain fish had very distinctive ultraviolet markings on their faces – and we wondered what they were using them for,” says lead author, Dr Ulrike Siebeck of The Vision Centre and The University of Queensland (UQ).

See here for more: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=78209106351

San Miguel Island from David R. Andrew on Vimeo.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1251711/Every-dolphins-gone-surfin-Stunning-pictures-hundreds-glide-monster-waves.html

Note: for copyright reasons, only the link can be shown here.

La Jolla – Part 2 from David R. Andrew on Vimeo.

Used with Permission/All Rights Reserved

Used with Permission/All Rights Reserved

One of San Diego’s most fascinating underwater denizens is the lion nudibranch.

What is a “nudibranch” you may ask? It comes from the two words, Latin and Greek, respectively, meaning “naked gill” and it is the marine country cousin, so to speak of the common garden slug, but much more colorful. It is called “naked gill” due to the fact that in nudibranchs, the gills are external to the body.

The lion nudibranch, is a predatory sea slug which grows up to 4 inches long, with an expanded hood about 3 inches, which expands out into the water to catch microplankton in the water.

See below for more: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-38501-San-Diego-Scuba-Diving-Examiner~y2010m2d12-San-Diego-marine-life-lion-nudibranchs-in-La-Jolla

QUEENSLAND, Australia — Most people wouldn’t give a second thought to the inner workings of the fish eye.

But research by University of Queensland scientists is unlocking the secrets hidden behind these fishy lenses.

Professor Justin Marshall, and colleagues from the Sensory Neurobiology

Group within UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, have found, for the first time, how certain types of fish see color.

Professor Marshall’s work revolves around the role double cones play in the vision of trigger fishes.

See here for more: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=56319082104