Kaleidoscopic Coral

Diving over colourful coral, on 7 mile reef at Sodwana Bay in Northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The tops of these rocks are elevated into the current and so coral is exposed to continuous ocean current bringing nutrient rich water to them for feeding. Goldies and other reef fish hang in the current’s eddies for a rest or cleaning by smaller reef residents which flit about devouring dead skin and parasitic growths off their flanks.

Goldies  -  Pseudanthias squamipinnis

Thistle Coral  -  Dendronepthia

This species shows marked sexual dimorphism which means having two different distinct forms of individuals within the same species or two different distinct forms of parts within the same organism. For plants, it could refer to different leaf types,flowers, etc. For animals, it could refer to different colouring, sizes,features, etc. Sexual dimorphism is a common case, where the two sexes have different shapes, sizes, etc. from each other. The female Goldie grows to a length of up to 7 cm. It is orange/gold in colour with a violet streak below the eye. The male grow up to 15 cm. It has a fuchsia colour with an elongated third ray of the dorsal fin, a red patch on the pectoral fin and elongated margins of the tail. Like other Anthias (Anthiinae) the sea Goldie is aprotogynous hermaphrodite. The male retains a harem of five to ten females, but when the male dies, one of the females will undergo sex reversal and take the place of the missing male

Nikon D300,  Nikkor 10.5 mm f2.8fisheye lens, 1/80^th sec @ f9, ISO 200

Photograph by Andrew Woodburn