Images Dated 11th February 2014

SND02105

Hermit crab
Dardanus sp.
Hermit crabs are shell-less creatures that use dead shells for protection. As hermit crabs grow, they must exchange their shell for a bigger one. Suitable empty shells are not always available and hermit crabs frequently fight over an attractive shell. Scientists have even see hermit crabs size up each others shells and then make a swap, but this is rare.
New South Wales, Australia

© Becca Saunders/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

SND02102

Old wife
Enoplosus armatus
Old Wives are a family of fish containing a single species. It is unique to Australia. Old Wives can occur in pairs, as large solitary individuals on coastal reefs, and in large schools usually in sheltered habitats such as seagrass beds or beside jetty pylons. The dorsal spines are venemous. The common name is derived from the grating sound the fish makes when stressed (ex. when being removed from a fish hook).
New South Wales, Australia

© Becca Saunders/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

SND02082

Halimeda green algae
Halimeda cuneata
A large amount of almost white sand is associated with coral reefs. Some of it consists of the ground-up remains of corals and shells, but much of the sand is produced directly by various algae on the reef. One of the most ubiquitous of these sand-producing plants is the green leafy alga, Halimeda, which deposits granular calcium carbonate in its tissues. When the plant dies (the dead areas appear white), the decayed grains fall free as instant sand. Although there are many tropical species of Halimeda, this is the only species known to reach the southern Australian coast.
Pig Island, Illawarra region, New South Wales, Australia

© Becca Saunders/AUSCAPE All rights reserved