Marine life  /  Jacks & open-water fish
29 of 1316 species
Group

Jacks & open-water fish

Fast open-water hunters that come in over the reef rather than living on it: trevallies, jacks, barracuda, mackerel, tuna and the amberjacks. A silver fish moving quickly, in a school or in ones and twos.

Species
29
Depth
0–50 m
Rarity range
1 star of 5, found on most divesto 4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Night only
None
Can hurt a diver
1
Destinations
15

They are seen on the reef edge, over a pinnacle, at a channel mouth, or where a current runs, because that is where their prey is. A stationary diver on the edge sees more of them than a swimming one, and they will come to look.

Several hunt by cooperating. A group of trevally will push a bait ball against the surface or against a wall, and some species change colour markedly while hunting so the rest of the group can see them.

The barracuda's reputation is out of proportion. A large solitary one hangs motionless watching a diver, which is unnerving and is all it does. The recorded incidents involve speared fish or bright metal in murky water.

29 species

Photographed first, then commonest

29 written up, none photographed yet

Every one has a page. They are shown as a list rather than as pictures because nothing has been photographed or logged for them yet, and a species with nothing behind it should not sit in front of one that has.

Where they are recorded

How many of the 29 carry a record at each destination. A species usually carries several, so these do not add up to 29.

Islas Revillagigedo 11 Anilao 9 Dauin & Dumaguete 9 Bali 8 Papua New Guinea 8 Lembeh Strait 7 Florida 6 Bahamas 6 Galapagos Islands 5 Cayman Islands 5 Maldives 4 Cocos Island 3 Australia 3 Ambon 1 Red Sea 1

The other groups

Anemonefish 11 Angelfish 25 Batfish 3 Blennies 26 Butterflyfish 35 Cardinalfish 13 Damselfish 32 Dottybacks 5 Dragonets 5 Eels & garden eels 18 Flatfish 8 Frogfish & anglers 26 Goatfish 8 Gobies & dartfish 29 Groupers & anthias 42 Hawkfish 5 Jawfish 4 Lizardfish & flatheads 10 Morays 26 Morwongs & trumpeters 4 Parrotfish 16 Pufferfish & boxfish 23 Rabbitfish 5 Scorpionfish & lionfish 47 Seahorses & pipefish 53 Shrimpgobies 17 Snappers, breams & sweetlips 39 Squirrelfish & soldierfish 9 Surgeonfish & unicornfish 26 Triggerfish & filefish 25 Trumpetfish & cornetfish 4 Wrasses 56 Other fish 46 Sharks & rays 63 Turtles, sea snakes & crocodiles 11 Marine mammals & birds 10 Cephalopods 36 Nudibranchs & sea slugs 137 Sea snails & shells 26 Shrimps 38 Mantis shrimps 5 Crabs 45 Hermit crabs 10 Lobsters & squat lobsters 13 Isopods & parasitic crustaceans 5 Amphipods 2 Sea stars 18 Brittle stars & basket stars 7 Feather stars 2 Sea urchins 23 Sea cucumbers 12 Worms 11 Flatworms 3 Jellyfish & stinging drifters 10 Anemones & zoanthids 12 Corals & sponges 29 Sea squirts 4 Blackwater & plankton 52 Other invertebrates 2

All 1316 species in one index, with filters for destination, rarity and hazard.

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