6/30/2023 0 Comments The sea of stars beach![]() ![]() Whitetip reef sharkĪ little over a meter in length, whitetip reef sharks are small but easily recognized. Having sharp teeth, a tiger shark has a whiteish underbelly and blue skin, and they eat everything from turtles and dolphins to seals and squid. Growing to 5 meters in length, they have been known to attack humans. Tiger sharkįound in the open water, there are a select few sites in the Maldives where tiger sharks roam. The Maldives is one of the rare destinations on the planet where divers can witness schools of hammerheads swim around freely. Greyish with white bellies, their flat heads are their most distinguishing feature. The sight of a hammerhead can be frightening at first, but they are surprisingly shy and only interested in feeding on octopus and stingrays. Preferring to swim near the surface, they are grey with white spots and range from 3 to 8 meters in size. Whale sharks are peaceful creatures that primarily eat plankton or little fish however, their presence can be daunting for some snorkelers. The biggest shark attraction in the Maldives is also the largest fish in the ocean. A few, though, are more visible than others. Of the 20-odd species that call Maldivian waters their home are nurse sharks, grey reef sharks, lemon sharks, silver tips, and leopard sharks. There quite literally are plenty of fish in the sea around the Maldives, but the excitement associated with a shark sighting is unlike any other. On most days, divers can expect a school of hammerheads float above them, a view one does not forget easily.Ī Baby shark close to a scuba diver in the Maldives Different species of sharks in the Maldives Dives to the site take place early in the morning and at a depth of 30m. Here, you’ll find the world-famous Hammerhead Point. Popular as a feeding ground for manta rays, not many know that it also attracts grey sharks and doubles up as a mating area for whale sharks.Īn encounter with sharks can happen anywhere in the Maldives, but to observer the jaw-droppingly unique hammerheads, one must travel to Rasdhoo Atoll. Regular diving and snorkeling tours depart from nearby resorts to this noteworthy site.įor an extraordinary snorkeling adventure, head on over to Baa Atoll’s Hanifaru Bay. Whale Shark Point near Maamigili Island is a protected area and home to over 80 sharks. However, for an almost guaranteed interaction, South Ari Atoll is the place to visit. Whale sharks are common in the Maldives, and most divers come across them at some point in time. This behavior has also been observed in Antarctic shallow-water sea star species that feed on sponges.Group of divers in observation of a great hammerhead shark in the Maldives waters Diving with sharks in the Maldives In both cases, the largest sea stars were on a high point on their respective sponge while the smaller sea stars appeared to have been pushed away. These observations suggest complex interactions among these deep-sea sea stars, which seemed to be pushing each other away to assert dominance over the large prey item. The observations featured in the journal article include 10 sea star species feeding on various corals, including octocorals, black corals, and stony coral eight feeding on deep-sea sponges, both glass and demosponges and four feeding in the sediment.Īlso included are two extraordinary observations of multiple “cookie stars” ( Peltaster placenta and Plinthaster dentatus) and a sea urchin ( Cidaris rugosa) feeding on a large barrel sponge ( Geodia). Download larger version (1.2 MB).įeeding observations in the deep-sea are uncommon, but they can tell us a lot about the predators, their prey, and their surrounding environments. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2018. This sea star ( Pythonaster atlantidis), from a poorly understood and rarely seen genus of sea stars, was observed feeding on a glass sponge during the Gulf of Mexico 2018 expedition. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. ![]()
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