SeaSmart Underwater Reef Pictures
Fish and Invertebrates
Probably the most famous SEASMART PNG animal, the Lightning Maroon clownfish.
Here's a photo of a male banded jawfish incubating eggs in his mouth. The eggs gestate for 7-10 days in the male's mouth before they hatch.
This seaweed blenny (Parablennius marmoreus) vary widely in color and phey prefer shallow reefs with hard bottoms covered with algae.
This beautiful schooling fish, the Bluestripe snapper, or Blue-line snapper, is native to the waters of the Indian Ocean,
It is often said that for every invertebrate in the ocean, there’s a nudibranch that eats it, and this generally seems to be true.
In this photo, a Zebra crab is seen perched between the venomous spines of a fire urchin.
The Moon jellyfish can be found in practically any of our world's oceans and lives everywhere from the warm waters of the Caribbean to the cold waters of Europe.
The Humphead or Napoleon wrasse is the largest Labrid in the world and is found primarily on Indo-Pacific coral reefs
The absolutely stunning blue stripe or orange fin anemonefish, Amphiprion chrysopterus. This clownfish can be found in the tropical waters of the western Pacific.
The lined seahorse, can be found a wide variety of colors and textures.

This beautiful, graceful Moorish Idol can be found throughout the tropical Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Red Sea.
The Clarion angelfish is an absolutely stunning Pomacanthid whose vibrant colors grace the clear, blue waters of Mexico's Revillagigedo Archipelago
The fire urchin is a large, venomous species of echinoderm that is known for its associations with a wide variety of other macro invertebrates.
The great white shark - the apex predator.
Nudibranchs are endlessly fascinating animals that come in just about every color imaginableare, are shaped in the most peculiar of ways, and eat some of the weirdest things.
This Beaugregory, a common Caribbean species is a 2-inch juvenile colored in brilliant hues of blue and yellow, but the adult is actually quite drab and almost entirely brown.
Lionfish have now become invasive in the Atlantic and are having a negative impact on reef fish due to their bottomless appetites.
The bumphead parrotfish is the largest species of parrotfish, with adults reaching sizes exceeding 4 feet in length and easily weighing 100 pounds.
This lancer dragonet pair, hails from the waters of southern Florida and can be a real showoff.
They are essentially huge eagle rays that can have wingspans over 20 feet and can weigh up to two tonnes.
This is Olivar's squat lobster, also called the bug-eyed squat lobster, and it is less than an inch long when fully grown.
As promised, a pre-harassed photo of the poison ocellate octopus. Very different and much less intimidating!
This bigfin reef squid is probably the most common large squid species that can be found on Indo-Pacific reef and sea grass beds.
The flying gurnard is a fish in the family Dactylopteridae with an appearance that suggests it might actually be capable of airborne flight.
This poison ocellate octopus looks very innocuous when resting and unprovoked, but when threatened, its appearance completely changes in milliseconds.
Barracudas are a common schooling fish in the Indo-Pacific that are easily recognized by their long teeth and fearsome appearance.
This weedy scorpionfish is a living tribute to the process of evolution. Each one of them is just a slightly different color or has a unique fin filament pattern.
If two pygmy seahorses settled in next to each other don't say "Love", I'm not sure what does!
This filefish species is very often found hiding within the safety of matching soft corals like this pulsing xenia.
his tiny (pinky nail sized shell), juvenile hermit crab was spotted on a night dive in Dumaguete, Philippines.
This snake eel is in the process of eating a peacock flounder, a task that will likely take a fairly long while to complete considering the size of the prey item.
These formidable predators will eat practically anything that fits in their mouths, but will often take the time to pose for a nice mug shot.
This particular clownfish lived with her mate for 18 years in the same anemone and is a testament to the importance of proper husbandry in this trade from collection to home aquarium.
Crocodile fish are carnivorous Scorpaeniforms native to the western Pacific and can reach a length of about 2 feet.
Whale sharks are fantastically large filter feeds that can reach lengths of over 40 feet and can weight in excess of 20 tons.
Coleman shrimp are normally found in pairs on the toxic fire urchin, with the female being the larger of the two.
The pink skunk clownfish is indigenous to the West Indo-Pacific and is one of the more docile species of anemonefish.
Porcelain crabs are beautiful little relatives of the squat lobster (not actually true crabs) that can be found all over PNG in a variety of colors.
The camel or hinge-beak shrimp is one of a small percentage of the amazing invertebrates of the Indo-Pacific known to the aquarium trade.
The Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Metasepia pfefferi, is a fascinating cephalopod that has amazing color-changing abilities.
The Orange-Spotted Shrimpgoby, Amblyeleotris guttata, is one of many species of shrimpgobies that are native to PNG.
Ring-tailed cardinal fish are mouth brooders that incubate their fertilized eggs in their mouths. The males are responsible for holding the eggs while they develop.
The Bigeye Jack or Trevally is a common schooling fish found in much of the Coral Triangle including PNG.
The Blue Ribbon Eel is a beautiful animal with striking colors that exhibits sexual dichromatism.
The Painted Frogfish comes in an amazing variety of colors including orange, cream, pink, black, and red.
The Thorny Seahorse is a delicate animal that is typically found in seagrass beds and rocky reefs.
This beautiful little pink hairy squat lobster (Lauriea siagiani) will spend its entire adult life on a giant barrel sponge. Completely covered in tiny yellow hairs that fluoresce rainbow colors at night.
The Spotted Sweetlips, as the name suggests, is completely covered in spots and is typically found under reef ledges, lagoons and seaward slopes.
Soft coral crabs like this one can be found nestled into their host coral upon which they are hardly visible due to their amazing camouflage.
An absolutely amazing cephalopod that can be found in the Indo Pacific is the Bobtail Squid, a little ocean jewel that is a treat to see.
This juvenile Ocellaris clownfish is staying hidden in the safety of his anemone, but came out just enough to show off his vibrant colors.
The Spiny Devilfish is native to the Western Indo-Pacific and has venomous dorsal spines that can be hazardous if touched.
Xeno crabs are about an inch and can be a variety of colors ranging from brown to black to green, but almost always have a wide white stripe down the middle.
The Emperor angelfish is a large, colorful member of the family Pomacanthidae that is truly a stunning sight on a reef.
Frogfish look very different over the course of their lives, and this juvenile, which could fit on the average person's thumbnail, will change drastically as it grows.
The tiger jawfish can be very secretive and will spend the majority of its time excavating multiple burrows that are all connected under the substrate.
The banded garden eel is a notoriously difficult subject to photograph and even observe due to its skittish and secretive nature.
This dorid nudibranch with fantastically bright colors is traveling along a wall at Siquijor Island, Philippines and is probably looking for food.
Green sea turtles can weigh up to 350lbs and are herbivorous, feeding on seagrasses and algae. Some of the body tissues of these sea turtles actually develop a green hue.
Scorpionfish are masters of camouflage, all the way from their fins to their eyes and everything in between. In this picture, the unique shape of the pupil is apparent.
The blue spotted pufferfish is a large, smooth-skined puffer native to the Indo-West Pacific. They vary substantially in their coloration.
Considered "new to science", this nudibranch has not yet been given a species name and feed as well as lay their eggs on sea pens.
This yellow-mask angelfish can reach a length of 15 inches. It difficult to care for in captivity as they feed heavily on sponges and tunicates.
One of our spot maroon clowns.
This beautiful batfish, also often called a longfin spadefish (Platax teira), is the focal point of this majestic underwater scene in Raja Ampat.
The Whitemouth Moray Eel is quite similar in its habits to other morays. It spends most of its time hiding in corals with its head sticking out.
This octopus definitely understands the importance of recycling, as he decided to make a lovely and trendy home out of this old glass coke bottle.


Mandarinfish are beautiful and elusive members of the dragonet family with bright colors and intricate patterns that are native to PNG.
This Warty Frogfish (Antennarius maculatus) from the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific exhibits an impressive level of camouflage and appears to have patches of algae growing all over its body, making it extremely difficult to spot by both predators and prey.
The Marine Betta or Comet is an absolutely stunning fish that is closely related to the Assessors
The leaf scorpionfish (Taenianotus triacanthus) is one of the smallest members of the scorpionfish family and comes in a rainbow of colors.
It may look like abstract modern art, but this traditionally colonial green tunicate is a common site in the Indo-Pacific.
This is a picture of several firefly squids (Watasenia scintillans) displaying their incredibly attractive bioluminescence.
The ornate ghost pipefish can be found in a variety of colors ranging from black to red to yellow, and the juveniles are nearly transparent aside from spots of bright color.
These fish are most often found hosting the anemone H. magnifica, but may also be found living with anemones S. gigantea and S. mertensii.
Mantis shrimp are amazing invertebrates.
Coral
The Sharknose goby (Elacatinus evelynae), is a tiny cleaner fish native to the Caribbean from the Bahamas to South America.
This Orangutan crab seems to be contently relaxing in the safety of a euphyllia coral at night in Puerto Galera, Philippines.
Large coral heads, like this beautiful tabletop acropora in Tubbataha marine reserve, is a great place for juvenile fish to congregate and stay safe from the many predators waiting for an easy meal.
This filefish species is very often found hiding within the safety of matching soft corals like this pulsing xenia.
This Anker's whip coral shrimp (Pontonides ankeri) never reaches an inch long and is a difficult invertebrate to spot.
Porcelain crabs are beautiful little relatives of the squat lobster (not actually true crabs) that can be found all over PNG in a variety of colors.
Chromodoris willani is native to PNG, and their color can vary from white to a pale blue like this one to dark blue.
This sun coral is of the nonphotosynthetic (NPS) variety, meaning that unlike the hermatypic or reef building stony corals, it does not need sunlight to survive
Crinoids are fascinating animals that are part of the same phylum (Echinodermata) as sea urchins, sea stars, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers.
This tiny stonycoral goby only reaches an adult length of 1 inch, and lives a solitary lifestyle almost entirely on, you guessed it, stony corals.
This harlequin crab is showing off its claws while staying safe underneath a tube anemone.