Española Island
Snorkeling in the Galápagos Islands can be an unforgettable experience. The exuberance of the underwater volcanic settings and the abundance of marine species make this archipelago a worldwide famous place for underwater activities. Today during our snorkeling outing around the small islet known as “Tortuga” (Spanish for “turtle”) we witnessed how enthralling snorkeling can be. With the help of our underwater video camera, I captured on tape many marine species.
In the evening at our traditional recap, I identified the different fish and invertebrate species we spotted during the outing. It is genuinely moving to see how captivated our guests become while watching the action of the underwater world on the plasma screen in the lounge. Fantastic colors and shapes caused more than one expression of admiration. A list of everything we saw today will be too long for these short paragraphs. I will mention just some of the most remarkable sightings: diamond stingrays, spotted eagle-rays, white-tipped reef sharks, Pacific sea turtles, hieroglyphic hawk fishes, and Panamic cushion sea stars.
Among all the fish species observed today, one of them deserves to be highlighted due to its rarity. A white margined sea robin (Prionotus albirrostris) is an odd-shaped bottom dweller that inhabits sandy bottoms. During the daytime, this secretive fish buries itself under the sand. Its manner of locomotion is as odd as its appearance. It has dark, large, rounded wing-like pectoral fins that are used to move around. In addition these fish literally “walks” about on the multiple long spines of their ventral fins. As you have noticed this peculiar species does not have the typical fish-like shape and behavior. Hence you can understand why I am so excited to be reporting this unusual sighting. Larry Basch, one of the guests onboard this week, took this spectacular and rare picture. Enjoy it!
Snorkeling in the Galápagos Islands can be an unforgettable experience. The exuberance of the underwater volcanic settings and the abundance of marine species make this archipelago a worldwide famous place for underwater activities. Today during our snorkeling outing around the small islet known as “Tortuga” (Spanish for “turtle”) we witnessed how enthralling snorkeling can be. With the help of our underwater video camera, I captured on tape many marine species.
In the evening at our traditional recap, I identified the different fish and invertebrate species we spotted during the outing. It is genuinely moving to see how captivated our guests become while watching the action of the underwater world on the plasma screen in the lounge. Fantastic colors and shapes caused more than one expression of admiration. A list of everything we saw today will be too long for these short paragraphs. I will mention just some of the most remarkable sightings: diamond stingrays, spotted eagle-rays, white-tipped reef sharks, Pacific sea turtles, hieroglyphic hawk fishes, and Panamic cushion sea stars.
Among all the fish species observed today, one of them deserves to be highlighted due to its rarity. A white margined sea robin (Prionotus albirrostris) is an odd-shaped bottom dweller that inhabits sandy bottoms. During the daytime, this secretive fish buries itself under the sand. Its manner of locomotion is as odd as its appearance. It has dark, large, rounded wing-like pectoral fins that are used to move around. In addition these fish literally “walks” about on the multiple long spines of their ventral fins. As you have noticed this peculiar species does not have the typical fish-like shape and behavior. Hence you can understand why I am so excited to be reporting this unusual sighting. Larry Basch, one of the guests onboard this week, took this spectacular and rare picture. Enjoy it!
