Angelfishes belong to the family Pomancanthidae. All angelfishes have a large backward-pointing spine on the gill cover. This attribute is reflected in their scientific name which combines poma “cheek” and ancanthus “spine”. There are approximately 80 species of angelfishes worldwide. Angelfish are similar and sometimes confused with Butterflyfishes. They have a disk-shaped body with rounded foreheads. Angelfishes typically grow to over 1 foot in length except for smaller pygmy angelfish of the family Centropyge. Angelfishes are “haremic protogynous hermaphrodites”, meaning they are born female and then as they mature the largest and most dominate of the females can change to a male.

Barracudas belong to the family Sphyraenidae and are apex predators second only to sharks. These lean, fast and powerful swimmers can be seen either cruising the reef in isolation or in schools. There are about 20 species world-wide. One species, the Great Barracuda, can reach up to 6 feet in length and weigh up to 100 lbs. When they strike, they can reach speeds up to 40 ft per second.

Butterflyfishes belong to the family Chaetodontidae and are one of the most common fish species inhabiting coral reefs around the world. Their disk-shaped bodies and broad range of colors and color patterns contrast with many reef creatures who choose to blend in with their environments. Butterflyfishes mate for long-terms or possibly for life but provide no care for their young. These fish have a range of social behaviors from isolated individuals, to pairs to larger schools. Butterflyfishes are territorial and may stay 10 years or longer in a given territory. This behavior has led some scientists to believe that these fish may be able to provide early warning signals to deterioration in a given reef environment.

Caribbean coral reefs make up about 8% (by surface area) of the world's coral reefs and contain somewhere between 500 to 700 fish species. The greater Caribbean reef systems extend from Florida and the Bahamas to the the northeastern coast of South America. The greater Caribbean areas provides a variety of habitats from densely populated reef systems to wetlands to open water for pelagic species. The Caribbean is also home to a number of endangered species and is a vital commercial fishing zone. There are many threats to the Caribbean Fishes habitat including invasions of non-native species such as the Lionfish, over fishing, dust from Africa, coral disease and more that need to be better understood in order for us to help this beautiful and vital resource to recover and thrive.

A class (Cephalopoda) of marine mollusks including the squids, cuttlefishes, and octopuses that move by expelling water from a tubular siphon under the head. They have a group of muscular usually sucker-bearing arms around the front of the head and highly developed eyes. They usually have a sac containing ink which is ejected for defense or concealment.

Crustaceans are a large class (Crustacea) of mostly aquatic mandibulate arthropods that have a chitinous or calcareous and chitinous exoskeleton, a pair of often much modified appendages on each segment, and two pairs of antennae and that include the lobsters, shrimp, crabs, wood lice, water fleas, and barnacles. Echinoderms are a phylum (Echinodermata) of radially symmetrical coelomate marine animals including the starfishes, sea urchins, and related forms. Jellyfish are typically free-swimming, bell-shaped, usually sexually-reproducing solitary or colonial form of a cnidarian in which the whorls of tentacles lined with nematocysts arise and hang down from the margin of the nearly transparent, gelatinous bell. This gallery includes underwater images of crustaceans, echinoderms, jellyfish and sea worms including shrimps, crabs, lobsters, brittle stars, sleepy sponge crabs, arrow crabs and rough-spined sea urchins from the Cayman Islands, Caribbean, Hawaii, the Pacific, the Atlantic, Asia and Europe. High quality print and stock images.

Underwater images of Moray Eels from the Atlantic, Pacific and Caribbean including Zebra Moray, Undulated Moray, Yellow Margin Eel, and Green Moray. High quality print and stock images.

Groupers are the best known members of the sea bass family. They have large mouths and lips and a jutting lower jaw. The long, continuous dorsal fin is noticeably divided into two parts. They vary in size from the giant Goliath Grouper that grows to seven feet to the one-foot Coney. They are solitary carnivores that live near the bottom. Most of their days are spent lurking in the shadows of the reefs, ledges and wrecks where larger species blend with the background.

Photographs of Blue Whales, Humpback Whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sea lions and more. Come explore these magnificent creatures.

Rays, such as skates, electric rays, guitarfishes, manta rays and stingrays are found in oceans around the world. They can be found in both temperate and cold-water. Rays are classified as Batoidea, a type of cartilaginous fish that have around 500 species in 13 families. Rays are also distant cousins to sharks. A dive with the magnificent Giant Oceanic Manta Ray, Manta birostris, is something exceptional. The largest recorded Oceanic Manta Ray was more than 25 ft (7.6 m) across from wing-tip to wing-tip and weighed over 5,300 pounds (2,400 kg). Manta Rays have a short tail and no stinging spine. They are very acrobatic, and you can see them perform aerobatic flips and rolls as they glide through the water. Visit my blog @ http://blog.stevenwsmeltzer.com/dive-site-reviews/hawaiian-dive-sites/scuba-diving-hawaii-manta-ray-dive/ for a detailed description of this incredible dive.

Sea turtle pictures from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. There are two families of sea turtles the Cheloniidae family, which includes the Flatback sea turtle, Green sea turtle, Hawksbill sea turtle, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Loggerhead sea turtle and the Olive ridley sea turtle and the Dermochelyidae Family which has only one member the Leatherback sea turtle. • Family Cheloniidae o Chelonia mydas, green sea turtle o Eretmochelys imbricata, hawksbill sea turtle o Natator depressus, flatback sea turtle o Caretta caretta, loggerhead sea turtle o Lepidochelys kempii, Kemp's ridley sea turtle o Lepidochelys olivacea, olive ridley sea turtle • Family Dermochelyidae o Dermochelys coriacea, leatherback sea turtle Come explore this wonderful creatures.

Sharks and rays are cartilaginous fishes and belong to the scientific classification Chondrichthyes. Sharks and rays are grouped together in a sub-class called Elasmobranchii. Sharks are the apex predators of our oceans. They can be found in all oceans around our planet. Come explore photographs of these amazing creatures.

Underwater images of sea sponges from around the world, vase sponges, tube sponges, barrel sponges, rope sponges, elephant ear sponges, colony sponges from the Pacific, Caribbean and Atlantic. High quality print and stock images.

Beautiful photographs of Humpback Whales. From whales breaching off Maui to the great Blue Whales off the coast of California. View amazing images of Whales from around the world.