The crocodile hunter

Stealth, good judgement and patience are the virtues of reef crocodile fish as they lie in ambush waiting for their next meal.

Descendants of Nereus

"But Pontos, the great sea, was father of truthful Nereus who tells no lies, eldest of his sons. They call him the Old Gentleman because he is trustworthy, and gentle, and never forgetful of what is right, but the thoughts of his mind are mild and righteous." — Hesiod, Theogony 233

White-tip reef shark

White-tip reef sharks are nocturnal predators that feed on small fishes, mollusks and crustaceans. They have slender and highly flexible bodies and adults reach a length of around 1.8m. This allows them to get into small cracks and holes in the reef in pursuit of smaller fish which they track down with their acute sense of smell. White-tip reef sharks tend to rest in caves or channels between reefs during the day and often congregate into large hunting groups around dusk. This behavior has been observed and made famous in places such as the Cocos Islands, off Costa Rica, where over a 100 sharks have been seen hunting in a group.

Reef at Dusk

Damselfish hover above a coral head in the fading evening light off Mabul Island in Malaysian Borneo. Dusk is an active time on the reef as diurnal and nocturnal animals end and begin their respective days, and predators lurk in hope of an ambush. On Mabul, is is also the time when the beautiful mandarinfish emerge from hiding to perform an elaborate courtship dance.

Clowning around

Anemonefishes or clownfishes live within a host anemone in a symbiotic relationship. Anemones are related to coral and have stinging cells calls nemotacysts which are used to sting and capture small animals for food. Anemonefishes develop a special mucous on their skin that prevents them from being stung by the host anemone and therefore find protection from predators by hiding within the anemone.