Nano Gobies

we found here were very different from the burgeoning
reefs of the Indo-Pacific. One immediately noticeable difference
was the abundance of gorgonians (above all Plexauridae
and Gorgoniidae), masses of which occupied the
limestone mountains built by stony corals. They formed
elastic, bushy, and fan-shaped structures that swung to
and fro in the swell. Like the numerous branching stony
corals found elsewhere (in particular those of the genus
Acropora, which is poorly represented in the Atlantic),
these gorgonians are important to the fish fauna because
The long anal-fin spine is a striking feature of the Longjaw
Squirrelfish (Holocentrus marianus).
they provide cover. The second peculiarity of the Caribbean
reefs is their abundant sponge fauna, which made
the underwater landscape appear more colorful. In the
areas flooded with sunlight there was also an abundance
of various algae, cloaking the limestone so it looked like
a tufted carpet.
The fringing reefs in exposed positions often dropped
off precipitously into apparently bottomless depths, their
foundations somewhere in the eternal dark blue. The
nearly vertical walls were traversed by impressive ravines.
In one spot we dived through a vertical, chimney-like
cave whose exit was way below the usual 98-foot (30-m)
maximum on the depth indicator of the computer. But
the sheer walls of most of these reefs ended at around
82 feet (25 m), where they rose from broad expanses of
sand, from which low-lying banks of coral and smaller
patches also sprouted here and there. Everything appeared
undisturbed and intact, as if the worldwide coral
die-off was just a bad dream.
Nevertheless, even in this fabulous underwater paradise
we were suddenly brought back to reality by the sight
of the attractively colored Red Lionfish, with its feathery
fin-rays with poisoned tips. For some years this species
(Pterois volitans), actually a denizen of the Indo-Pacific,
has been spreading rapidly in the Caribbean and has
now reached the Gardens of the Queen. We found stately
specimens of this unwelcome immigrant everywhere.
They find abundant prey here, but have no natural enemies
themselves.
The indigenous fish fauna here is amazing, with
some 500 species resident in the Caribbean. The Queen
Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris) is undoubtedly one of
the most beautiful. The numerous wrasses, such as the
CORAL
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