Giant manta ray (Socorro)

Mantas flourish in this Mexican marine preserve, which can only be reached via 24-hour boat ride (each way) SW into open ocean from Cabo San Lucas. Here these gentle giants, which are harmless and have no known natural enemies, feed on plankton and glide effortlessly in a continuous ballet. They seem mildly curious toward visiting divers.

Giant manta ray close-up (Socorro)

Mantas seem to enjoy having their undersides scratched (possibly thinking parasites are being removed). Divers can't resist accomodating, as Rick is doing here. Unfortunately, mantas have skin like rough sandpaper, and since gloves are not permitted, most of us returned to the boat with fingers bleeding and raw. It seemed a small price to pay for the experience of interacting with these wonderful creatures.

Manta curling in cephalic fin (Socorro)

Mantas use these fins to funnel plankton into their mouths when feeding, but when not feeding, they often curl them into "horns." This is why early sailors viewing mantas from above gave them the nick-name "Devil Rays." (You can see cephalic fins completely open and closed in the other manta pictures.)

Judy with manta as it turns (Socorro)

While Judy was scratching this manta under its "chin," it decided to turn vertically and do a gentle roll. Another diver watches in awe as it banks toward him. Note how careful Judy is being to hold her body and camera away from the manta so as not to scrape or injure it.

Doug & Judy - that's a moray (Socorro)

Schooling hammerhead sharks (Cocos)

Cocos Island, which is only accessible via 30-hour boat crossing (each way) West from Costa Rica. Famous for its huge schools of hammerhead sharks, Cocos provides the unique opportunity to see hundreds of these sharks (and the shadows of even more of them in the distance).

Hammerhead side view (Cocos)

The odd shape of the hammerhead's head has been the subject of much debate. The most likely purposes are sensory (enabling them pick up subtle electrical signals) or navigational (helping them move through the water more effectively). But no one is really sure how this shark's head evolved in such a strange and unusual way.

Hammerhead from underneath (Cocos)

Much of the time diving at Cocos is spent "hugging the rocks" trying to blow as few a bubbles as possible. Hammerheads are very wary, and tend to stay away from bubbles or anything else unusual. When they feel safe, several of them will peel away from the school and veer in close to the rocks, where butterflyfish and angelfish rush to "clean" them (pick parasites, dead skin, etc. off them). Getting to see one of these 8-foot oddities of nature swim a few feet over your head is an amazing experience.

Hammerhead from below (Cocos)

The hammerheads at Cocos are the "scalloped" type, named for the distinctive front of their head that is clearly evident here. Although hammerheads are bizarre looking and often featured in shark documentaries, incidents of them attacking humans are almost nonexistent. Indeed, their attitude might best be described as "weirdly shy."

Whitetip shark (Cocos)

Whitetips are plentiful at Cocos. They can be seen lying on the bottom everywhere, and frankly cease to be very interesting after just a few dives. More docile than most sharks, whitetips are generally no danger to humans who don't unduly harrass them. Note the black spiny urchins? These are everywhere at Cocos, and many divers preoccupied by hammerheads inadvertently end up with urchin spines in their hands (or in my case, ankle) for many weeks after they return home.

Crinoid & yellow coral (Palau)

Palau, in Micronesia, is a dive destination well known for beautiful soft corals. Crinoids (which - like corals - are animal, not plant) use their feather-like arms to filter plankton from the water for food.

Jellyfish Lake (Palau)

Palau is home to a unique lake, land-locked for centuries, in which a strange species of grapefruit-sized jellyfish have evolved. Because they have no enemies or prey, these jellyfish have no stingers. Instead, they are "farmers," raising a special type of algea in their tendrils which they they then consume as food. Each day, these hundreds of jellyfish swim from one end of the lake to the other, following the movement of the sun for maximum production of their "crop."

Orange soft coral (Palau)

Green crinoid (PNG - Papua New Guinea)

Crinoids look like plants (this one resembles a fern), but are actually -- like almost everything else on tropical reefs -- animals. They use their feathery arms to filter food (plankton) from the water, and crawl around the reef on wiry little "feet" in search of the perfect location.

Orange crinoid (PNG)

Fuscia anemone (PNG)

Hermit crab (PNG)

This crab, which picked a large (10-inches across) shell as its home, peeks out, hoping I will just go away.

Hermit crab annoyed (PNG)

With his shell turned over, this fellow was more than a little annoyed. As they say, "If looks could kill," this glare would have done me in for sure!

Mantis shrimp (PNG)

The colorful mantis shrimp, roughly 6 inches long, is both beautiful and dangerous. Its claws, tucked underneath (making it resemble its insect namesake), can lash out at a speed that is one of the fastest actions in nature. Not only is this used to kill prey that stray too close, but its ability to shatter the bones in human hands has earned this little guy the nickname "Thumb-cracker." Look but don't touch!

Skull cave, Milne Bay Province (PNG)

Hidden high up a hillside, we were led (after a long, hard climb through steep jungle) to a traditional PNG skull cave. A relic of the days when tribal warfare and canibalism were common in PNG, skull caves were considered "trophy chests" where tribes kept heads of enemies. They are kept well-hidden because one way enemy tribes can hurt or insult a tribe is to crush the skulls in one of their caves.

Skull cave close-up (PNG)

Considering the fact that cannibalism has been outlawed in PNG for several decades, some of the skulls in this caved looked disturbingly fresh...

Pink anemonefish in anemone (PNG)

Small turtle eating (PNG)

This turtle was so engrossed in his meal of this bubble coral that he barely looked up occasionally to consider the strangers photographing him. Literally "dripping" the sticky remnants of his last bite, he was totally unconcerned about our presence.

Ravine (Bay Islands, Honduras)

Octopus at night (Bay Islands, Honduras)

Octopus are capable of turning a multitude of colors. This guy, extremely irritated at being followed and illuminated, struck his most imposing pose, flaring the tissue between his arms into a billowy tent and changing to a ghostly, luminescent blue-white.

Me with my old Minolta SLR & Ikelite housing with which all these photos were taken...