Spot the Blenny!
|
Many of the 40 Australasian Fishes journal posts have reported 'findings' made by the community. This journal post, however, 'just' shows a terrific image.
The photograph was taken by Wayne Martin at Daveys Bay in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. It shows a Tasmanian Blenny, Parablennius tasmanianus (view gallery) 'sheltering' in a colonial sea anemone.
Wayne stated, "I had no idea it was a blenny at the time - I did see the tentacle above the eye, but the transparent tail made me question its identity. It made an interesting experience watching it darting around the zoanthids" (colonial sea anemones).
As a keen diver, Wayne has become increasingly concerned by human-induced changes to his local marine environment. These include seeing introduced polychaetes, anchors that destroy old sponges and mussel beds, and dozens of tins of cat food that are thrown overboard to attract angling fishes.
Wayne stated, "I enjoy shore diving, so I don’t bother with a strobe because it is troublesome to carry too much gear on land. I use an RX100 – IV with Fantasea housing. It has a 1” sensor so I don’t have too much noise with my photos."
Thank you Wayne for submitting such a great observation.
Comments
Could not agree more about the under-utilised wonders of shallow diving and snorkeling ,with no camera strobe needed,at our back door .
In reality
(*Digressing: is a TV real ? ...beats me... [or you can try "Whoops, he must be getting old and grumpy" ...but if you believe so, you should tell SWGAS, because I've stopped listening] ..! *)
anyone genuinely curious about temperate Oz marine life needs only basics.
Ability to swim, a mask+/- snorkel, and some sort of clothing for gaol avoidance (and in summer,UV protection).
And, for iNat, a camera is good!
Even neoprene is optional for warmth (how long will you be wet?) but comes with the bonus of protection from minor marine stingers
( e.g. Carybdea rastoni and those other comparatively benign temperate jellies, whose stings are often from fragmented bits of tentacle, invisible in the intertidal detritus , the jellyfishes having been broken into pieces by wave action during minor gales.
My anecdotal experience is pretty convincing WRT this:The acute local pain of the [?! almost vampirish ?!] stinging bites
from those big ,mean ,'troppo-strength DEET dismissive', cunning and very persistent 'March' or 'Horse' flies ,inflicted mercilessly by flies nearly twice the size of blowies, seemingly capable of overtaking a 747 in a strong headwind , and which can appear within seconds of my arrival at some beach access points such as foreshore car parks on just about any rural coastline where agriculture includes managed livestock, while I'm hastily kitting up and muttering naughty words aplenty,is more painful than the minor welts inflicted by jimbles ,once I'm dressed for action and have sought refuge in the water)
You'll never know unless you go...
Great photo Wayne, good spotting. Thanks Ken
Add a Comment