20 Feb, 2008

Elsewhere on the reef, seaweed-like scorpionfish lie camouflaged and a turtle seems to be sleeping in a cave.

After a few days of battling to find sharks on Aliwal Shoal, off the Indian Ocean coast of South Africa, I decided to investigate the reef itself. A strong north-south current pushed us over the buttresses and coves of the inside edge. Escaping the strong surge was quite easy if I took shelter in the potholes on the drop-off.

The structure here is impressive. Coral is almost non-existent, but the looming sandstone pinnacles and walls house some interesting creatures.

After plunging over the rock wall and hitting bottom on sand, I found numerous raggy scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis venosa).

These are always impressive examples of camouflage but are worth avoiding because their spines are venomous. The fish have seaweed-like appendages attached to their jaw lines and upper bodies.

In one of the caves beneath the scorpionfish’s lair we found a big turtle, seemingly fast asleep. The animal had shoved its head into the back of the cave and was motionless. I wondered how long this air-breathing reptile could sustain this mode of sleep.

The real gem of today’s dive was the round ribbontail ray (Taeniura melanospilos) that I found feeding out over the sand.

The ray was working an area of scattered rock and sand, flapping its ‘wings’ and stirring up sand, while creating a natural suction with its entire head. This sucks up small crustaceans and worms that live in this sandy area. Every now and again the ray would swim, circle and relocate itself, only to begin the suction process again.

– by Graeme Duane, Earth-Touch crew © Earth-Touch

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