Alert Diver Category: Encounters

Small critters can be hard to spot and photograph — but when you slow down your speed, you can see just about anything. Here are some best tips on locating cryptic critters.

OUR RECENT UNDERWATER ADVENTURE began with a fanciful quest to track down an inconspicuous little fish no larger than a nickel … the seldom-seen dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae).

Ctenophora is a small phylum of ancient origin, and many of its species are mistaken for jellyfish. Read more about ctenophores and some of their eating and hunting habits.

Populations of Banggai cardinalfish have plummeted in recent years because of market demand. However, they are slowly rebounding. Read more about the Banggai cardinalfish.

SINCE THE LATE 1800S, debate among marine taxonomists has swirled around the species status of the stately little Caribbean sea basses in genus Hypoplectrus, commonly known as hamlets. At the […]

If you’re willing to be patient and look within dark crevices and spaces, you’ll find unique creatures who live secretive lives. Read more about the fish that can be found within caves.

Frogfish are major draws for naturalists and divers — they are unique and well-adapted hunters. Thanks to a tiny rod in its head, they can tempt meals easily and efficiently. Read more about frogfish and their unique hunting rituals.

MANY JAPANESE DIVERS LOVE UNDERSEA CREATURES, particularly the home-grown varieties living in abundance along the country’s craggy volcanic coastlines and offshore islands. They also have an infatuation for the eccentric […]

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.