Lionfish...

Sunday 19th June.   Location: Bocas

This is posted out of date order because I was so incredibly excited at what I saw today I couldn't wait to post it:

Snorkeling off the island this morning we came across this amazing reef with millions of brightly colored sponges and tube worms, and the largest collection of brittle stars I've ever seen, sadly we didn't have the camera with us (how typical).   The seabed was a profusion of color, with yellow, red, purple, blue and white coral, sponges, tubers, and fish it was breathtaking.

Info and photos from Google on this amazing fish, (click on this link)

Without a doubt the most exciting sighting was of three Lionfish, hovering around a crevice under a giant coral rock, they were quite large about 8 -10 inches across.  For those of you unfamiliar with Lionfish I have posted a photograph here taken by John White, which I found on Google.

Lionfish are the most graceful, beautiful fish, they look almost like floating plants with their long wavy, delicate spines.  This brightly colored fish is most commonly found in the shallow waters of the coral reefs around the Indo-Pacific, I have never seen one in the Caribbean before, so my first actual sighting of not just one, but three, was really exciting.  Don't be fooled by their beauty, Lionfish have very venomous fin spines that will give you an excruciatingly painful sting.

Photo by John White

This copied from a google site, on the effects of the sting by the Lionfish:

A person punctured by one of the sharp spines will immediately feel strong pain. Rapid swelling of the affected body area develops which may make the movement of limbs very difficult. Lion-fish stings can cause nausea, breathing difficulties, paralysis, convulsions and collapse. Even death may occur in exceptional circumstances. Most people survive in spite of the great pain. The venom in the spines remains active for days, so even discarded spines should be treated with caution. It may take several months for a full recovery and if the sting is left untreated, gangrene may develop. 

So, needless to say, being very aware of this we didn't venture too close, particularly as they seemed to be guarding a few hundred babies...

WOW it was an exciting morning...