Lutjanus jocu This snapper earned its name from the long canine teeth that show even when its mouth is closed. They are sturdy almond-shaped fish that are usually olive-green on top, fading to coppery pale underneath, and they have a distinct white triangular bar under their eyes. These nocturnal
The post-larval stage eventually settles out of the plankton, onto suitable habitat
Emblemaria pandionis This small fish has a long, scaleless body and a large, distinct dorsal fin that tends to be larger on males. Their blunt faces are topped with a cirrus above each eye and next to the nostrils. They live in clear, shallow water along rocky shores or reefs where there is rubbl
Food Habits The sailfin blenny is a carnivore, feeding on small invertebrates and plankton
Mangroves Support: Microorganisms Algae Invertebrates Fish Reptiles and Amphibians Birds Mammals Microorganisms Mangroves are an important part of estuarine food webs, producing large amounts of leaf litter. Leaves drop from the mangrove trees and are quickly decompose
These invertebrates feed on leaf litter, detritus, plankton, and other small animals
Lutjanus mahogoni This colorful reef fish grows to an average 15 inches long but has been caught larger. It is a dark gray to olive on top, with silvery sides and a distinct black spot on its upper back. There is a reddish tint to much of its body, and its fins have rusty red highlights. Although
They eventually settle out of the plankton, onto suitable habitat that offers some
Holacanthus bermudensis This blue-brown fish has trailing dorsal and anal fins that are blue with yellow-edges. Juveniles are dark blue with yellow highlights and bright blue bars on the body. They are observed forming breeding pairs, and can produce loud thumping sounds to startle predators and
absorbed, during which time the fish develops into true larvae and begins to feed on plankton
Gymnura altavela These broad, flat diamond-shaped rays are much wider than they are long, with a short tail that has one or more serrated spine at the base. They are generally dark brown, sometimes with pale-rimmed dark spots or blotches. They have been reported at almost 13 feet wide, but averag
Food Habits Feeds on fishes, crustaceans, mollusks and plankton.
Bothus lunatus One of the most noticeable features of this flat fish is that both eyes are on one side of its head. But they start out with an eye on either side of their heads like most fish, and their right eye migrates towards the left as they mature. They are experts at camouflage and can qui
consumed by jellyfish, ctenophores, worms, shrimps, and fish during their time in the plankton
Chaetodon striatus These small, flat, oval shaped reef fish have pointed snouts and sloping foreheads that flare out to spines and fins that encompass their profiles. As adults they are white with strong black vertical stripes and yellow highlights on their fins, but juveniles are distinctly dark
This butterflyfish has also been observed forming schools of 20 individuals during plankton
Lutjanus cyanopterus These solitary reef fish are large, almond-shaped carnivores that average 3 feet long but can grow to 5 feet long. They are gray to dark brown, with a continuous dorsal fin, longish pectoral fins, and a long caudal peduncle (tail) ending in a stout caudal fin. They are very s
little known about the development of the larvae and their settlement out of the plankton
The Indo-West Pacific is the largest, most biodiverse marine ecosystem on Earth, and many of the species it supports have comparably wide ranges. Writing in “The Origin of Species,� Charles Darwin noted that “… many fish range from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean, and many shells are common to the
which individuals drift across the world’s oceans in the form of microscopic plankton
