Alert Diver Category: Encounters

Fangs are an adaptation that have benefited the blenny species enabling them to ward of predators. Some species of blennies have poisonous fangs. Read more about the importance of fangs.

Ghostpipefishes are incredibly hard to find — spending most of their short lives in the open ocean as bits of plankton before eventually settling in protected coastlines, where they discreetly blend into the shadows and breed. Read more about encounters with ghostpipefish.

On our first trip to Hachijō-jima in 2015, we were in the company of friends on a mission to photograph a scientifically undocumented pygmy seahorse the size of a pumpkin seed. Even after a concerted four-day search, the tiny target eluded our efforts until a single seahorse miraculously materialized in the last minutes of the last dive on the last day.

Of the fish sighted around Bay Islands, Honduras in the last 20 years, the writers compiled a list of several they had yet to interact with. Here are their tales.

Flying fish can be hard to spot, but once you do, they’re fantastic creatures. Learn more about how one group of divers worked together to spot flying fish.

What diver isn’t enchanted by an octopus, especially a beguiling beauty with the reputation of an assassin? Even though we searched for legendary blue-ringed octopuses across their territorial waters of the Asia-Pacific, it took five years before we made our first sighting in Lembeh Strait.

Jellyfish are a diverse species and incredibly fascinating. Read more about encounters with jellyfish.

Several divers were lucky enough to catch a rare moment in the mating rituals of frogfish. Read more about their encounter.

Blennies have interesting mating rituals — males often change colors to attract a mate.

Underwater worms are fascinating creatures and not much is known about these species. Read more about worms.