SEAPHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST #94: Ocean predator.
Hello #ocean lovers, it's been a while since I took part in this contest, only one photo allowed so i'll have to make it a good one. Two days back I had a great dive on our house reef lots of nice stuff to see, turtles, nemo, lots of cool macro critters but this guy caught my eye as it was nicely snuggled into the coral patiently waiting for a potential meal to swim by.
The Bearded Scorpionfish ( Scorpaenopsis barbata) is a vicious ambush predator, it lies in wait for passing crustaceans or small fish to get within striking range and hits with a immense turn of speed and uses suction to pull the prey into it's mouth. Without the aid of light these brightly coloured fish blend into the reef and are quite difficult to spot.
They are part of a larger family of Scorpaenidae, this group of fish have poisonous spines in their fins which are their main form of defense, among this group are the attractive Lion fish and the very ugly and deadly stone fish.
Chilling out between meals.
Canon 60mm, Ikelite housing, F10 - ISO 100 - 1/250
Thanks for taking a look why not try the contest yourself, rules below, until next time our paths cross, stay safe out there folks!
RULES
1- Post your photography on the monday submission post announcing the contest of the week
2- Upvote this post announcing the contest (% of upvote will be noted to calculate prize).
3- The photographer must be the author of the photography presented to the contest. Any attempt at plagiarism will be denounced and its author blacklisted of the contest. NO PLAGIARISM!
4- Write a few words about your photography indicating the place, the exif, or any others informations that the photographer will judge useful. English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, Marsian, all languages are accepted. However, an English translation in a parallel column could be usefull for everyone ...
5- The photography can be submitted from Monday to Saturday midnight. Only one photography per contest and per author.