Underwater World

Spotted wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus)

Spotted wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus), under school of Slender cardinalfish (Rhabdamia gracilis). Looks sluggish, but can be agile and temperamental, as many unwary divers have found. North Solitary Island, New South Wales, Australia

© Copyright Mark Spencer/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Animal, Animal Portrait, Attractive Skin, Australian, Best Of Australia, Biodiversity, Carpet Shark, Chondrichthyes, Common Carpet Shark, Common Catshark, Fauna, Front View, Great Barrier Reef Species, Harmless, Japan, Large Group Of Animals, Many Animals, Miispecies, Nocturnal, Numerous, Nurse Shark, One Animal, Orectolobidae, Orectolobiformes, Orectolobus, Ovoviviparous, Pacific Islands, Sea Life, Shark, Skin Flaps, Tassel Shark, Ugly, Underwater, Unusual, Weird, Wildlife, Wobbegong, Wobbegongs

Wandering sea anemone (Nemanthus sp.)

Wandering sea anemone (Nemanthus sp.). These sea anemones attach to sea whips, hydroids and black corals, often in large numbers. Although found in deeper water as far south as Jervis Bay on the NSW coast, they are of tropical origin, the larval form being brought down by currents. They can release themselves from their host and wander through the water column to find a suitable new perching place. North Rock near Fish Soup, Solitary Islands Marine Park, New South Wales, Australia

© Copyright Mark Spencer/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Great barracude (Sphyraena barracuda)

Great barracude (Sphyraena barracuda), showing the long, uneven, teeth and underslung jaw that allows it to feed on very large fish by chomping them in half. Can reach 1.8 m but is usually about 1.4 m long. A vicious fish, will attack divers and can inflict severe wounds but generally not without provocation. Also kills more than it can eat. Coral Sea, Australia

© Copyright Mark Spencer/AUSCAPE All rights reserved