The Right Blue

Deep Colors: Masked Butterflyfish Pair in the Red Sea

Masked Butterflyfish (Chaetodon semilarvatus) in the Red Sea

by B. N. Sullivan

The Masked Butterflyfish (Chaetodon semilarvatus) is one of just a few species in the family Chaetodontidae that mates for the long term, thus they are most often seen in pairs. They live in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

These are brilliantly colored fishes with bright yellow, vertically lined bodies. They have a distinctive grayish blue eye mask, the feature for which they are named. "Semilarvatus" in Latin means "Half-mask." The species has several other common names, including the Blue-cheek Butterflyfish and the Golden Butterflyfish.

I photographed this pair against a backdrop of colorful Nephtheid soft corals in the Red Sea. Each fish was approximately 18 cm (7 in) long.

Hermit Crab with Bright Blue Eyes

by B. N. Sullivan

This is the White Speckled Hermit Crab (Paguristes punticeps), a Caribbean species of the Diogenidae family. Adults of this species grow to a length of 3 to 5 inches (about 8 to 13 cm). These reef dwellers inhabit empty gastropod shells, tail end first, so you won't normally get to see the crab's full length.

Without the artificial light produced by the camera strobe, these crabs look dark brown with white speckles. It's also difficult to make out those wonderful bright blue eyes without artificial light and a macro lens. But that's why macro photography was invented, right?

Jeepers, creepers -- where'd he get those peepers?!

One of the most noticeable morphological features of this species: both of its claws (chelipeds) are approximately equal in size. More commonly, the claws of hermit crab species are of different sizes -- typically the left claw is larger than the right.

All of the images on this page are of the same individual, photographed during a night dive at a site known as Cumber's Caves on the north shore of Little Cayman island.

The Peppermint Angelfish (Centropyge boylei)

A deepwater Peppermint Angelfish (Centropyge boylei) is on display at the Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The rarely seen fish was collected by Richard Pyle during an expedition funded by the Smithsonian Institution. The Waikiki Aquarium's Peppermint Angelfish is said to be the only one of its species in captivity that is also available for public viewing.

Have a look:

If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

Gotta Be Red Sea!

Shoal of Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) swarming over soft corals in the Red Sea

by B. N. Sullivan

Underwater scenery varies a lot around the world. Each region has characteristic features and creatures that immediately identify it and set it apart from other areas in the mind of the well-traveled diver. Just as kelp forests say "California coast" and reef scenes with purple sea fans and yellow-tailed snappers must surely be Caribbean, a photo like the one above immediately brings to mind the Red Sea.

Other locations in the Indo-Pacific region have Anthias, those delightful little goldfish look-alikes, but nowhere else we've been seems to have them in such profusion. Shoals of Anthias are as ubiquitous in the Red Sea as the soft corals.

In case you'd like to have a better idea of what the individuals of this species look like, here are links to specimen photos from Dr. Jack Randall's collection at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu: