Dangerous Organisms in the Red Sea

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Red Sea Shadow

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Messages
2,580
Reaction score
87
Several months ago I compiled an article regarding the dangerous organisms in the Red Sea. The objective is not to make people feel afraid of diving but to highlight the major underwater threats. Here's the extract. The full article with pictures in PDF format could be found at http://www.red-sea-shadow.com/downloads/DangerousOrganisms.pdf

Titan Triggerfish
The Titan Triggerfish (Balistoides Viridescens) is ready to attack anyone close to its
nest on the sea’s sand bed. Its mouth is very strong, as it is designed for breaking the hardest corals. The Titan Triggerfish can grow up to 75 centimeters in length and
lives in depths between 5 and 35 meters.

Stonefish
The Stonefish (Synanceia Verrucosa) lives motionless on hard corals or on sandy or
even grassy floors. Its dorsal spines inject a toxin, which is lethal even for man. The
Stonefish can grow up to 38 centimeters in length and lives in depths between 5 and
45 meters.

Lionfish
The Lionfish (Pterois) is rather timid and peaceful. However, its radial spines are
connected to poisonous glands thus can inject a very dangerous poison so it is advisable not to touch one. The Lionfish can grow up to 18 centimeters in length and
lives in depths between 0.5 and 25 meters.

Bluespotted Stingray
The Bluespotted stingray (Taeniura Lymma) stays most of the time on sand, and
sometimes covers itself with sand. It has a poisonous spine on the caudal fin that can inflict a painful sting if stepped on. The Bluespotted stingray can grow up to 100
centimeters in length and lives in depths between 2 and 20 meters.

Arabian Surgeonfish
The Arabian Surgeonfish (Acanthurus Sohal) lives on the reef plate. Its caudal fins
have very sharp blades so take care not to accidentally touch them. The Arabian
Surgeonfish can grow up to 40 centimeters in length and lives in depths between 0.5
and 10 meters.

Bluespine Unicornfish
Like the Arabian Surgeonfish, the Bluespine Unicornfish (Naso Hexacanthus) also
lives on the reef plate and its caudal fins have very sharp blades. The Bluespine
Unicornfish can grow up to 35 centimeters in length and lives in depths between 10
and 137 meters.

Shortnose Unicornfish
The Shortnose Unicornfish (Naso Unicornis) is like both the Arabian Surgeonfish
and the Bluespine Unicornfish. It also lives on the reef plate and possesses very
sharp blades on its caudal fins. The Shortnose Unicornfish can grow up to 70
centimeters in length and lives in depths between 2 and 80 meters.

Giant Moray
With its head that juts out of the crevices of the reef, the Giant Moray (Gymnothorax Javanicus) can inflict very painful bites to SCUBA divers who come too close to its den or who try to stroke it. The Giant Moray can grow up to 240 centimeters in length and lives in depths between 10 and 50 meters.

Great Barracuda
The Great Barracuda (Sphyraena Barracuda) is attracted by silvery metal elements
of the SCUBA equipment so avoid showing it your first stage. It is counted amongst
the most ferocious and voracious reef dwellers. The Great Barracuda can grow up to
190 centimeters in length and lives in depths between 3 and 100 meters.

Diadem Sea Urchin
The Diadem Sea Urchin (Diadema Setosum) is found in the shallow water of lagoons
or on the reef plate, especially at night. If it’s touched, its super fine spines can give a painful sting. The Diadem Sea Urchin can grow up to 39 centimeters in length and
lives in depths between 0.5 and 9 meters.

Fire Corals
The Fire Corals (Milleporidae) are found in the shallow water, generally in the areas
exposed to currents such as reef walls. Extra care must be taken not to touch them as they can cause painful burns. In case of a burn, the affected area should be washed in very hot water, as the stinging toxin breaks down when exposed to heat.

Textile Cone Shell
The Textile Cone Shell (Conus Textile) is a night active mollusk found on the shallow sand beds and is a voracious predator. It possesses a mechanism that makes it capable of shooting poison darts over a distance of more than 10 centimeters. This
poison is fatal even for man.
 
oh my...

how do the tens of thousands of divers who dive the Red Sea each year manage to survive?
 
not all in one page like you got these!

:wink:
 
H2Andy:
oh my...

how do the tens of thousands of divers who dive the Red Sea each year manage to survive?

There are actually a lot more "dangerous" creatures in the Red Sea :wink:

Triggerfish are really trigger-happy and on the nesting season they tend to be extremely aggressive. I've been attacked (and chased :D ) by one of these, ended up with a hole in my fins.

Sea urchins and Fire corals are probably the most common injury, especially to snorkelers and swimmers.

I've also seen once a diver stung by Lionfish- in some popular nightdive sites they tend to leech on diver's torches- it gives them a good hunting advantage and this diver had buoyancy problems, kept flailing with his hands untill he touched the lionfish unintentionally.

Most fish try their best to stay away from divers before they need to turn into their defensive methods...
 
Absent from this article are potentially dangerous jellyfish, sea snakes, sharks & other organisms.

A relatively thorough and scholarly treatment of the topic can be found in:

Red Sea Safety: Guide to Dangerous Marine Animals, by Peter Vine
Hyperion Books (1986); ISBN: 0907151124

Regards,

DocVikingo
 
Interesting compilation. I've seen variations of all of those animals here in Asia. Thanks for sharing.
 
Red Sea Shadow:
Several months ago I compiled an article regarding the dangerous organisms in the Red Sea. The objective is not to make people feel afraid of diving but to highlight the major underwater threats...
And thank you for this. You did a good job. I learned something new from this.
 
DocVikingo:
Absent from this article are potentially dangerous jellyfish, sea snakes, sharks & other organisms.

A relatively thorough and scholarly treatment of the topic can be found in:

Red Sea Safety: Guide to Dangerous Marine Animals, by Peter Vine
Hyperion Books (1986); ISBN: 0907151124

Regards,

DocVikingo

Sadly, but the really most dangerous organisms are missing from the list: El Qaeda terrorist... :( These are supposed to be the most frightening.

I don't think that shark, snake attacks are prevalent, and most jellyfish over there are harmless
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom