Some IOP pictures from last weekend

[Geoff_H]

Well last weekend had mixed weather - pouring rain on Saturday morning followed by baking sunshine on Sunday so some odd conditions for diving.

The surge was quite prevalent in IOP, which is a cheap way to excuse the average pictures returned from a weekend's diving.

Anyway, as there were a few requests for these pictures (before anyone saw them!) here they are, in their unfocussed glory.

First up - we saw a lot of baby moray eels, only a few inches long and pretty cute. They tended to zip around a bit (they obviously get lazy later in life!), here is a picture of one with the focus somewhere behind it's head...

Next up is a lionfish.. I spent a couple of minutes swimming round in circles, trying to get a headshot of this fellow but he kept turning his back on me. Eventually I realised that is how they attack (porcupine style) so I gave up...

We saw a couple of these big sea hares during the weekend

Also in that area we found this shark, sleeping under the seaweed/kelp... the consensus was a little nurse shark, if anyone knows different please let me know!

We also found this huge flounder, well camoflagued for sand but quite obvious against a rocky/seaweedy background.... I guess when you are as big as him you don't need to hide so much.

Here is a stonefish, again the focus is off to the back of the fish....

Finally, a couple of questions.... what lays these eggs (if they are eggs)... and what type of nudibranch is this?

 

[jagfish]

Thanks for posting pictures, Geoff. I didn't even get my camera wet that weekend.

There were a lot of juveniles of several kinds of fish...tis the season...

 

[Rick Murchison]

Also in that area we found this shark, sleeping under the seaweed/kelp... the consensus was a little nurse shark, if anyone knows different please let me know!

I think that's a horn shark...
Rick

 

[jagfish]

Yup...one of the many bottom dwelling sharks we get here. They get up to 4 or 5 feet sometimes, but are generally 1 to 2. If I recall, they call them Nekosame here, literally cat shark...

 

[Geoff_H]

Well using the highly scientific method of searching Google Images, it seems like Uncle Ricky has nailed it as a horn shark.

Nurse sharks seem to have the main fin further back on their body than this fella, and cat sharks are thinner and longer bodied.

I don't know much about sharks, but wouldn't the "buds" on the fins of the shark pictured here be a giveaway for identification? Or is that something seen on all sharks as they grow? It almost seems as if its growing a bigger fin, but I don't really think sharks grow like plants!?

This picture at http://www.elasmodiver.com/Sharkive images/Horn Shark 102.jpg

shows the same buds, and the shape of the shark is similar. Coloration is different but I guess that changes with species and habitat.

 

[Geoff_H]

Here is one with similar coloration from Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Horn_shark.JPG

From the description

The horn shark, Heterodontus francisci, is a bullhead shark. It can reach a size of 122 cm and is brown with black spots. Its range is from central California to the Gulf of California, Mexico, and probably also in Ecuador and Peru. It is mostly nocturnal and appears sluggish in the daytime. It can bite if it is harassed.

Its habitat includes rocky reefs, kelp beds, sand flats, crevices, and caverns in a depth range from 2 to 150 m. Adults tend to return to the same resting spot every day. It feeds on invertebrates, primarily sea urchins, crabs, probably abalone, and other fish.

The horn shark is oviparous, laying 12-14 cm (5 inches) long kelp-colored spiral-shaped eggs that may float up on beach shores.

 

[Henryville]

Hey Geoff,

Fun pictures. IOP can be a great spot, it's just a shame that they limit the access the way they do.

The eggs are from a nudibranch, what specific type I don't know. But I've seen that type of spawn before around Izu.

I don't have my guidebook here at work, but I believe that is an Aeolid nudibranch, possibly from the Fabellina family. I'll take a look tonight and see if I can pin it down.

Titan on this board is really good at Japanese nudibranchs, you might PM him and get an answer.

 

[Daiika]

Heading to IOP this weekend...7/21--22. At first I thought that was a leopard shark but the fins were different. Where is the kelp? I don't recall seeing kelp there.

 

[oodt098]

nice pics bro. real good stuff

 

[The Punisher]

Nice pics