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country flag of Exploring photos taken in Maldives

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  • Prince Adora This handsome Oceanic Manta Ray - Manta birostris is another first observation to Manta Trust's database.
I was asked to give a name to him - Prince Adora, in appreciation to the crews of the the Boat; MV Adora that I dive with on many trips to Maldives. Fish,Fuvahmullah,Giant Oceanic Manta Ray,Giant oceanic manta ray,Maldives,Manta Ray,Manta birostris,Mobula birostris,Pelagic Manta Ray
    Prince Adora
  • Open Wide Whale Sharks - Rhincodon typus are filter feeders.  They feeds by opening their mouth and gulping in water filled with planktons and as the water/planktons passes through their gills, the planktons are captured.

This Whale Shark showed up to feed behind our Boat at night when we put a bright light to attracts planktons at night. Geotagged,Maldives,Rhincodon typus,Shark,Whale shark,Winter
    Open Wide
  • Turtle in the Sky This Green Turtle - Chelonia mydas has some damage to its carapace, not sure if its injured due to Boat propellers or by Shark's attacks.  Turtles are favourite food of Tiger Sharks. Chelonia mydas,Green Sea Turtle,Green Turtle,Maldives,Turtle
    Turtle in the Sky
  • Not all Sharks have scary teeth This is a close up of a female Zebra Shark - Stegostoma fasciatum.  She was lying upside down when we found her, with a male Zebra Shark biting her tail, in a 'courting ritual' of Zebra Shark.

The zebra shark feeds primarily on shelled molluscs, though it also takes crustaceans, small bony fishes, and possibly sea snakes. The slender, flexible body of this shark allows it to wriggle into narrow holes and crevices in search of food, while its small mouth and thickly muscled buccal cavity allow it to create a powerful suction force with which to extract prey. Geotagged,Maldives,Shark,Stegostoma fasciatum,Winter,Zebra Shark
    Not all Sharks have scary teeth
  • Cutie Froggy This Juvenile Spotfin Frogfish- Antennarius nummifer is around 1.5 cm in size.
It was attracted by light at night behind our Boat, which attracted a lot of tiny planktons and this baby Frogfish came for a feast. Antennatus nummifer,Fish,Frogfish,Maldives,Spotfin Frogfish
    Cutie Froggy
  • Mixed Marriage This pair of Harlequin Ghostpipefish - Solenostomus paradoxus seems to have their colours mixed up.
Usually, once they are settled to the coral reefs, they will take on the colours of their surrounding, be it Feather Stars, Crinoids or other corals.  However, this pair is yellow/green and the other black. Geotagged,Ghostpipefish,Harlequin ghost pipefish,Maldives,Solenostomus paradoxus,Winter
    Mixed Marriage
  • Reef scapes Small coral reef on sandy bottom. Maldives. Underwater,coral reef,maldives,school of fish
    Reef scapes
  • Turtle in Heaven This Hawksbill Turtle - Eetmochelys imbricata was going to the surface to get a breather. Eetmochelys imbricatar,Hawksbill Sea Turtle,Hawksbill Turtle,Maldives,Turtle
    Turtle in Heaven
  • B-I-G Mouth The huge mouth of a Whale Shark - Rhincodon typus, all opened up during feeding.
During a recent trip to Maldives, we had 2 Whale Sharks showed up behind our Boat at night and I was able to spend more than 6 hours in the water with them.  The Boat put up bight lights at night to attracts planktons and this in turn attracts other predators, big and small to feed on them.

Being the biggest fish in the world, it is incredible that the diet of the Whale Sharks are tiny planktons.  They are filter feeders, gulping in huge volume of water rich in planktons and this water are course through their gills which takes in the planktons and other small/tiny stuff as their food.

On this particular occasion, one of the whale shark spend the whole night feeding behind our Boat, it shows up around 7 pm and was still there feeding when I got up the next morning at 5 am! Fish,Maldives,Rhincodon typus,Shark,Whale Shark
    B-I-G Mouth
  • Reef Stonefish - Synanceia verrucosa  Fish,Maldives,Reef Stonefish,Stonefish,Synanceia verrucosa
    Reef Stonefish - Synanceia verrucosa
  • Spiny Cushion Star - Culcita schmideliana  Culcita schmideliana,Maldives,Sea Star,Spiny Ciushion Star
    Spiny Cushion Star - Culcita schmideliana
  • Spotted Boxfish - Ostracion meleagris Spotted Boxfish - Ostracion meleagris are black to dark brown with white spots; blue head and sides with bright orange body spots, pale pinkish area below eye. Boxfish,Fish,Maldives,Ostracion meleagris,White-spotted boxfish
    Spotted Boxfish - Ostracion meleagris
  • Nudibranch - Goniobranchus gleniei  Goniobranchus gleniei,Maldives,Nudibranch
    Nudibranch - Goniobranchus gleniei
  • See-Through-Me! A juvenile Flounder, size around 4-5 cm, almost transparent was attracted to the light behind our dive boat, feeding among planktons. Fish,Flounder,Maldives
    See-Through-Me!
  • Silvertip Sharks - Carcharhinus albimarginatus This one was a small sized Silvertip Shark - Carcharhinus albimarginatus, around 1 - 1.5 meters. There were a few of them and were very sneaky.  If I am looking at one of them in front of me, there is always 1 or 2 sneaking up behind me.  But it was fun diving with them coming at me from time to time :D Carcharhinus albimarginatus,Fish,Maldives,Shark,Silvertip Shark
    Silvertip Sharks - Carcharhinus albimarginatus
  • Tunicates - Eudistoma rhodopyge Not 100%, was given this ID from another forum.

I don't usually see pink-coloured Tunicates, so this one really stands out to me, only saw 2 of them during this trip, size around 8 cm, this is not one organism but a colony of tunicates. Eudistoma rhodopyge,Maldives,Tunicate
    Tunicates - Eudistoma rhodopyge
  • Squadron This juvenile Bigfin Reef Squids - Sepioteuthis lessoniana showed up behind our Boat, attracted by the light at night.  They were feasting among the millions of planktons that showed up too. Bigfin reef squid,Geotagged,Maldives,Sepioteuthis lessoniana,Squid,Winter
    Squadron
  • Look into my eyes The compound eyes of the Longhorn Beetle makes an interesting macro photography.

This is the picture showing the full Beetle :

https://www.jungledragon.com/image/64498/longhorn_beetle.html Batocera rufomaculata,Beetle,Fuvahmulah,Longhorn Beetle,Maldives,Mango stem borer
    Look into my eyes
  • Colonian Tunicates - Didemnum molle  Didemnum molle,Maldives,Tall urn ascidian,Tunicates
    Colonian Tunicates - Didemnum molle
  • Scalloped Hammerhead Shark The scalloped Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini) is a species of hammerhead shark, and part of the family Sphyrnidae. Originally known as Zygaena lewini, the name of its genus was later renamed to its current name. The Greek word sphyrna translates into "hammer" in English, referring to the shape of this shark's head. The most distinguishing characteristic of this shark, as in all hammerheads, is the 'hammer' on its head. The shark's eyes and nostrils are at the tips of the extensions. This is a fairly large hammerhead, though is smaller than both the great and smooth hammerheads

During a dive where we were on the look out for Tiger Sharks and Silver Tip Sharks, this particular Hammerhead Shark swam directly towards me, I was taken by surprise but manage to get one clear picture of it and it went off the moment the flash on my strobe light went off :D Geotagged,Hammerhead Shark,Maldives,Scalloped hammerhead,Shark,Sphyrna lewini,Summer
    Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
  • Blotched Fantail Stingray - Taeniurops meyeni  Blotched Fantail Stingray,Fish,Maldives,Stingray,Taeniurops meyeni
    Blotched Fantail Stingray - Taeniurops meyeni
  • Spotted Garden Eels - Heteroconger hassi  Eel,Fish,Garden Eel,Heteroconger hassi,Malaysia,Spotted Garden Eel
    Spotted Garden Eels - Heteroconger hassi
  • White Spotted-Guitarfish The White-Spotted Guitarfish is also known as Guitar Shark or White-Spotted Wedgefish. They have a odd shaped pointed head, short and wide pectoral fins. This one was around 2 meters long.

This Guitar Shark was one of my wish-list, have seen them in Aquarium and dead in the fish market recently back in my home town Penang, but it was more meaningful to see and swim with them in the ocean.
 Fish,Guitarfish,Guitarshark,Maldives,Male,Rhynchobatus australiae,Rhyncobatus australiae
    White Spotted-Guitarfish
  • Asian Common Toad - Duttaphrynus melanostictus                                 Asian Common Toad,Duttaphrynus melanostictus,Maldives,Toad
    Asian Common Toad - Duttaphrynus melanostictus
More photos.. (292 total)
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