A tubed anemone provides the photographer with a
soft contrast to the hard coral overhang above
Lonely Planet Publications
Marine Life
Schools of barracuda are common and
can be seen at many sites
to the next known (and less specific)
level: Family (F), Order (O), Class (C) and
Phylum (P).
For real animal knowledge it is best
to choose one animal and observe it
closely. It is too easy to try to look at
everything at once. A slate is a very
good way of remembering shapes or
colour patterns.
The vertebrates (animals with backbones) in the photographs below show
some of the most common members of
the major families. Use these shapes as
the basis of your slate diagrams.
Invertebrates are animals that have
no backbone at any time of their life. Invertebrates are by far the most diverse
animals seen anywhere, especially
underwater. The photographs below
show the major groups and their evolutionary sequence of development and
complexity.
The GBR (and additionally the tropical
coral reefs to the near north) is one of
the few places you can see representatives from almost every group of animal
on the planet and many you wont see
anywhere else. The greatest challenge is
to identify and name these millions of
animals so other divers know what you
are talking about.
The system biologists use to differentiate one critter from another is
known as binomial nomenclature the
method of using two words (usually
shown in italics) to identify an organism. The second word is the species,
which is the finest detail name for an
animal, and refers to organisms that can
only breed with other members of the
same species. The first italic word is the
genus, into which members of similar
species are grouped. Where the species
or genus is unknown, the naming goes
135
136 Marine Life
whale shark
Rhincodon typus
Marine Life 137
leopard shark
Stegostoma fasciatum
whitetip reef shark
Triaenodon obesus
spotfin lionfish
Pterois antennata
Photo: John Barnett
grey reef shark
Carcharhinus
amblyrhyncos
scalloped hammerhead
shark
Sphyrna lewini
potato cod
Epinephelus tukula
coral trout
Plectropomus leopardus
Photo: John Barnett
tassled wobbegong
Eucrossorhinus dasypogon
redthroat sweetlip
Lethrinus miniatus
yellowfin goatfish
Mulloidichthys vanicolensis
longfin bannerfish
Heniochus acuminatus
Photo: Phil Woodhead
cowtail ray
Pastinachus sephen
manta ray
Manta birostris
giant moray eel
Gymnothorax javanicus
beaked coralfish
Chelmon rostratus
blue angelfish
Pomacanthus
semicirculatus
flame angelfish
Centropyge loriculus
variegated lizardfish
Synodus variegatus
reef flounder
F. Cynoglossidae
painted flutemouth
Aulostomus chinensis
pink anemonefish
Amphiprion perideraion
green moon wrasse
Thalassoma lutescens
Maori wrasse
Cheilinus undulatus
138 Marine Life
minifin parrotfish
Scarus altipinnis
Marine Life 139
clown triggerfish
Balistoides conspicillum
black-spotted toadfish
Arothon nigropunctatus
sponge
Amphimedron sp.
flatworm
Pseudoceros bimarginatus
feather duster worm
Protula sp.
Christmas tree worm
Spirobranchus giganteus
turret corals
Tubastraea sp.
comb gorgonian
Ctenocella pectinata
zoanthid
Palythoa sp.
tubed anemone
F. Ceriantidae
black coral
Atipathes sp.
staghorn coral
Acropora sp.
soft coral
Dendronephthya sp.
lace coral
Stylaster sp.
Clouds of planktiverous fish show the presence
of rich microscopic food in the passing waters
140 Marine Life
Marine Life 141
painted crayfish
Panulirus versicolor
imperial shrimp
Periclemes imperator
egg cowry
Ovula ovum
octopus
Octopus sp.
giant clam
Tridacna gigas
chromodoris nudibranch
Chromodoris coi
rigid-bodied nudibranch
Notodoris gardineri
bryozoans
Phyl. Bryozoa
feather star
Cl. Crinoidea
blue sea star
Linckia laevigata
sea cucumber
Thelanota anax
sea urchin
Echinometra mathaei
Divers can explore every possible reef habitat on the GBR
Box sea jellies are only found in costal
waters during northerly calms
Marine Life 143
HAZARDOUS MARINE LIFE
Marine animals almost never attack
divers, but many have defensive and offensive weaponry that can be triggered
if they feel threatened or annoyed. If
youre not sure what something is, dont
touch it! Being able to recognise potentially hazardous creatures is a good
way to avoid accident or injury. The following photographs illustrate some of
the GBRs most venomous and dangerous marine life, followed by short descriptions of what to expect and some
recommendations for first aid in the
unfortunate event you are stung, bitten or stabbed. Trained locals are aware
of the latest discoveries in terms of the
animals and what treatments are best.
Bristle worms
Bristle worms are free-living polychaete
(many-bristled) worms. If you touch one,
its bristles will break off in your skin,
causing an intense burning sensation.
Using gently applied glue or wax will
help remove the fine, hair-like bristles.
Sea jellies & other stingers
Sea jellies, box jellies and Portuguese
man-o-war are found in GBR waters and
have dangerous tentacles loaded with
Bristle worms can cause severe itching if handled
nematocysts (stinging cells), used to
deter predators and catch prey. Upon
contact, the stinging cells will fire and
cut into the skin, injecting venom.
Box jellies are found only along the
coast. They, and the small Irukandji
(a type of box jelly), can deliver fatal
stings. However, deaths are uncommon
and even severe stings can usually be
treated with modern first aid. Flood sea
jelly stings with vinegar or the recommended fluid for that species, then
apply a cold compress. For others, remove any remaining tentacles with forceps, flood the wound with iced water
and maintain a cold compress.
Fire coral
Fire coral appears as two basic hydrozoan forms. Fireweed can be either
white or brown and is soft, fragile and
feathery. The hard form stinging coral
is either encrusting or branching and
appears as a yellow or brown colony.
Look at them carefully and you will see
their surfaces are covered in tiny hairs
each loaded with stinging cells. The
hairs grow out of minute pores, hence
its scientific name, Millepora. Contact
results in a burning itch which may
develop into secondary infections if
scratched. To treat, use vinegar then hydrocortisone cream.
144 Marine Life
Marine Life 145
a blue-ringed octopus emerges. Avoid
empty shells, cans, bottles and the octopus. Apply pressure bandages and seek
medical attention.
Sea urchins &
Crown-of-thorns sea stars
Corallimorpharian
Anemones & Corallimorpharians
Anemones and corallimorpharians use
the same stinging cells as the fire corals and sea jellies. Some anemones are
totally harmless, while others can cause
a severe pain or allergic reaction. Corallimorpharian stings tend to be itchier
and take much longer to heal. Treat with
vinegar, ice packs and local anesthetics
and monitor the patient.
Cone shells
Cone shells are found in the shallows
of most reeftops and under boulders.
These attractive shells are armed with
a proboscis, out of which shoots a small
poisonous harpoon used to inject a
highly toxic venom. In the event of a
sting, the stung area will go numb, and
can be followed by muscular or respiratory paralysis and even, in extreme
cases, heart failure. Treat as for snake
bite with a pressure bandage and seek
medical attention immediately.
Blue-ringed octopus
Although only small 5cm to 20cm this
octopus, whose blue rings flash when it
is annoyed, delivers a sometimes fatal
bite which can cause death if EAR is not
maintained. People have put shells in
their wetsuit only to be surprised when
With spines strong enough to penetrate
neoprene and the skin, spiny sea urchins
and crown-of-thorns sea stars are obvious creatures to avoid, especially urchin
species that have a toxin bulb at the end
of the spines. Some urchins have toxic
pedicellariae (pincers) between the
spines, which cause severe pain upon
contact and have killed humans. Like
most hazardous critters, you can completely avoid injury by not touching
them. To treat, remove the spine debris
and soak affected area in non-scalding
hot water.
Stingrays
Moray eels
Stingrays are generally harmless but be
careful when walking in the shallows or
kneeling on the bottom. If you tread on
a ray, it will flick its tail over its head and
drive the barb in its tail downward into
your leg or foot. The barb can penetrate
bone and leaves venom, which is extremely painful. Remove any debris and
put the wounded area into non-scalding
hot water. This denatures the venom in
about 20 minutes. Always shuffle your
feet when walking in the shallows and
check the sea floor before kneeling.
Morays open and close their mouths
to breathe, which makes them look as
though theyre about to take a big bite.
But, shy by nature, morays will leave you
alone if you leave them alone. They will
bite in unusual circumstances and when
they do it is difficult to get them to let
go, as their teeth slant backwards. If bitten treat the wound with antiseptics
then seek medical attention.
All teeth and almost no bite, barracuda
often get a bad rap. Unless provoked,
they rarely attack divers. They may be
attracted to a shiny object resembling a
lure. They have sharp, backward-slanting teeth and an underslung jaw, which
allows them to hang on. If you are bitten, dont pull back too quickly thus
avoiding nasty tears to the skin. Treat as
you would a moray bite.
Sea snakes
The venom of these air-breathing reptiles is said to be up to 20 times stronger
than any land snake. Sea snakes only release venom when feeding or under extreme distress so most defensive bites
do not contain venom. If bitten and injected with venom, immobilise the limb,
use a pressure bandage and get help
immediately. Do not wash the wound.
Barracuda
Venomous fish
Sharks
Sharks have never killed nor injured a
scuba diver in GBR waters. There have
been a few bumps and rubs causing
skin abrasions or lacerations but most
sharks are totally harmless. The few that
have the size to be potentially harmful
are usually timid. Incidents usually only
occur to people intentionally feeding
sharks or carrying fish, which sharks
can try to take for food. Townsville has
one of the highest death rates to sharks
in the world but all occurred during
WWII when soldiers swam in the river
outlet that carried offal from the local
meat works!
Scorpionfish, stonefish and lionfish are
all masters-of-disguise with bulbs of
venom at the base of their dorsal spines
(or all spines in the case of the lionfish), so if you tread on one or annoy it
enough, you are likely to be punctured
and then injected with venom. Use
non-scalding hot water to denature the
venom and seek medical advice.
146
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