A Lizardfish with Bling

Wordless Wednesday
Watery Wednesday

What: Close-up of a species called the 'Slender Lizardfish' (Saurida gracilis).
Check out the iridescence!

Where: I took this photo during a night dive in the Red Sea
at Tiran Island, off the coast of Egypt.


Saurida gracilis
Click on the photo to enlarge.

29 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2009 at 3:05 PM

    I enlarged it and wow ... beautiful. You are so lucky to be able to dive and all ...

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2009 at 3:35 PM

    I'm very impressed - a night dive! and the fish is got some beautiful patterns (on kind of a homely face!)

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  3. UnknownFebruary 3, 2009 at 3:48 PM

    Hard to scale ... I'm assuming its very small.

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  4. EG CameraGirlFebruary 3, 2009 at 3:49 PM

    WOW! The sea sure is beautiful world!

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2009 at 4:14 PM

    Wow. What an interesting little thing. I think I was most fascinated by it's mouth... I think it was it's mouth, with all of the lines it it. Great shot!
    :-)

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  6. LoriFebruary 3, 2009 at 5:04 PM

    Wow...its mouth looks weird. I wonder how it tastes??? Happy WW my friend. Hey look....Im going first!!!!

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  7. IndraniFebruary 3, 2009 at 5:12 PM

    I was wondering: how close did you actually go to get the close up!
    Amazing shot!

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  8. kdenFebruary 3, 2009 at 5:36 PM

    Beautiful colors, but his mouth, not so much ;-) I'm jealous that you get to photograph these beautiful underwater creatures.

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  9. DeniseinVAFebruary 3, 2009 at 5:38 PM

    A fascinating fish and a great photo!

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  10. CarlettaFebruary 3, 2009 at 6:57 PM

    Should you say a fish is beautiful? :)
    The color and iridescence are amazing. The pattern around the mouth is so unusual.

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  11. catsynthFebruary 3, 2009 at 8:23 PM

    We can certainly see how the fish got it's name. Beautiful photos and subjects, as always.

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  12. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2009 at 8:52 PM

    Wow, very impresive critter. I have never seen anything like it. Great shot.

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  13. VALKYRIENFebruary 4, 2009 at 12:50 AM

    Amazing! Never seen a fish like that. But then I don't nightdive, and don't have a camera to go under water...I'm jealous.....But thanks for showing a different and great capture!

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  14. Connie T.February 4, 2009 at 3:29 AM

    You took a neat photo of the fish. He is colored like his surroundings. Very nice.

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  15. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2009 at 6:27 AM

    Beautiful image and subject Bobbie, wonderful work as always !!

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  16. MojoFebruary 4, 2009 at 7:01 AM

    Looks like he was surprised to see you there!

    I dated a blue water certified dive instructor for a while who said it was as free as you could be... looking at your photos, I believe it.

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  17. BNSFebruary 4, 2009 at 7:26 AM

    Thanks for visiting, everyone. By the way, the iridescence is not apparent in daylight, when the fish is a rather dull grayish color with darker mottled spots.

    Answers to questions:

    @ Robert V. Sobczak - Not too small. We didn't measure the fish, but we'd guess this one was close to 10 inches (25 cm) long.

    @ Indrani - Real close! The fish was resting on a sandy bottom and my camera's lens port was maybe 6 inches (15 cm) away from the fish.

    @ Catsynth - Yes, fishes in this family do look rather reptilian.

    @ Valykyrien - You're already a good photographer. So if you dive as well, you should think about getting an underwater housing for your camera.

    @ Mojo - Your diver friend told you the truth!

    For those who commented on the unusual mouth, it is an identifying feature of fishes of the genus Saurida.

    Bobbie

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  18. jams o donnellFebruary 4, 2009 at 9:04 AM

    Wow another stunning photo. You always have such marvellous pics

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  19. Tink *~*~*February 4, 2009 at 11:31 AM

    His mouth looks sort of upholstered - you know how they do chairs with piping around the edges? That's what it looks like!

    Tink *~*~*

    My Mobile Adventures *~*~* Presents: The Feast - Sanibel Island, Florida

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  20. kmlFebruary 4, 2009 at 3:04 PM

    That mouth is very different - is it opened? It doesn't appear to have teeth - are they baleens?

    Great details!!

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  21. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2009 at 4:50 PM

    That mouth is looking funny to me with stripes.

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  22. BeckyFebruary 4, 2009 at 5:38 PM

    WOW, that color is beautiful. I also like the pattern on the mouth. Really different.
    B.

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  23. GattinaFebruary 4, 2009 at 7:24 PM

    Impressive ! what eyes and smile !

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  24. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2009 at 8:11 PM

    Hi friend.. Nice and interesting post..lizard fish pics is gud.. Do visit my blog and post your comments.. Take care mate.. cool.. Cheers!!!

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  25. AnonymousFebruary 5, 2009 at 3:45 PM

    Neat looking fish, thanks for sharing with us!

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  26. Tammie LeeFebruary 5, 2009 at 6:11 PM

    wow, in all my imaginations I doubt I could have ever dreamed of this creature. Wonderful image and thank you for sharing!

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  27. antigoniFebruary 6, 2009 at 7:11 AM

    Funny mouth. Is the rest of it like a lizard?

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  28. AnonymousFebruary 13, 2009 at 10:08 AM

    Awesome image and subject Bobbie, thanks for sharing !!

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  29. worldtrendzJune 9, 2009 at 5:51 PM

    Hi Friend.. Interesting post.. Keep up the good work.. I have added you to my blog roll.. Hope you too will add me.. Do find time to visit my blog and post your comments.. I wil drop by your blog often.. Take care.. Cheers mate!

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We welcome your comments and invite your questions. Dialogue is a good thing!

Bobbie & Jerry