Eels

The spotted garden eel looks more like a worm than an eel. It has a rounded snout and can grow to a length of 40cm. It anchors itself deep within its burrow dug into the sandy bottom, and stretches out where it wavers its head high above the bottom to catch the microscopic organisms brought it by the currents. The colony of spotted garden eels may number in their hundreds, all wavering in the current during the day.

This eel belongs to the moray family but is different from the other moray species in that it lives in a burrow dug into the sandy bottom. The ribbon eel is so named, as its body is thin and ribbon like and can grow to a maximum length of 130cm. You will not get to see the entire length however, as the eel only protrudes 1/3 of its body out of the safehold of its burrow. When fully grown adult, the ribbon eel has a yellow snout, which is made up of an enormous scoop-like nostril. The female is coloured yellow except for the black anal fin and white fin margins. The juveniles and young adults have a different coloration; all black with a yellow dorsal fin.

Morays are sedentary hunters. Like

the large groupers and lionfish, they are awkwardly shaped and clumsy, making quick movements difficult. Therefore, they lie in holes and under corals, in wait for their prey to pass by. The Moray has a dorsal fin and the only way it can move through water is to undulate like a snake. Moray Eels locate their prey through their powerful sense of smell and their nostrils can be spotted at the front of their snouts that leads to long nasal canals. The holes where water exits the nasal canals is situated near the eyes. The Moray's sense of smell is so acute that it can sniff out a prey before it can see it coming.

Moray eels are truly at ease during the night and have been seen free swimming among other fish species without any activities of predation. The Giant Moray can grow to a length of 2.2m and weigh 30kg. Although it may look vicious when it opens its mouth, numerous sharp fangs flashing at you, Morays are generally shy. But don't try putting your hands into cubby-holes and dark nooks in corners, a frightened Moray can inflict a lot of pain! A really agitated Moray may even chase a diver or a snorkeller and may not stop chasing until either you get hurt or it does.

Other Moray species found in our waters are the Reticulated Moray (Gymnothorax tessellata) and the Peppered Moray (Siderea picta)

Sharks!

Sharks have been around for over 300million years and yet have not diversified as much as other fishes. Contrary to one's perception that if the shark has not gone through much adaptive changes through time, then it must be ill adept. It is, rather that the shark was made to last… it was made fully equipped to handle changes. In fact, the shark is the least evolved creature in the sea. Sharks exist in all expands of oceans - in cold and warm temperate, in reefs and in estuarine areas.

There are over 300species, falling into eight orders, thirty families and almost a hundred genera. Divers in the Malaysian waters may encounter the reef sharks like the blacktip, the whitetip, the silvertip and the grey reef sharks, nurse sharks, hammerheads, leopard sharks
and the whale sharks- which incidentally is the largest known fish.

Sharks are elasmobranchs, which means that their skeletons and fins are made of cartilage and not bone. Their fins are rigid and not hinged like other fish inhabitants. It has also developed five to seven gill slits on either side of their bodies and do not have gill coverings like other fishes which have one gill slit, protected with a gill covering.

Sharks do not have gas bladders, which is used to control buoyancy in fishes. Instead sharks counter this problem in the way they are designed… the cartilaginous skeleton is not as dense as bony skeleton, many large sharks have huge livers containing buoyant oil which help stabilise whilst swimming and they gain power with the side-to-side sweeping motion of their bodies. But this alone does not help stabilise and provide the lift. The shark's body is sculptured pretty much like that of a plane. Its powerful pectoral fins are situated near its centre of gravity, and like that of a plane lifting of…slopes down and backward for that added force to thrust the creature forward and provide a lift. The tail fin also contributes to the needed lift but mainly acts to balance the shark in motion. More than 30 species have adapted to staying at the bottom, spending most of their time on the bottom, breathing through a process which pumps water through their respiratory systems.

Those that are not bottom dwellers have to swim continuously to stop from sinking. Many streamlined sharks have to swim continously to drive the water through their gills to provide enough oxygen for the body and to remove waste. There are many of these that can pump oxygen through their gills for a limited time of several hours so that they can sink down to the bottom during resting periods. That's why sharks caught in drift nets die because without constant swimming, they will, in retrospect…drown.

Another reason for attack is when they are provoked. Never corner sharks! When in such situations, it would turn around and face its challenge rather than swim away. The posture of the shark changes as it prepares for its attack. Its pectoral fins is pushed downwards, it arches its body, lifts its snout and bends its body sideways. As the shark becomes more agitated, it swims vigorously and continuously in a pattern of tight figure eights.

Most sharks give birth to their young fully formed and they are either able to nourish their fetal young internally or develop their eggs for internal hatching and growth until they are born. The young sharks are called pups and look exactly like their parents. A small number of species produce egg cases that are often deposited in seaweed. Very little is known of their courtship but it is known that during copulation, the male uses a pair of claspers or appendages to transfer the sperm into the female.

This shark is often seen in shallow waters, in inner reef flats with sandy bottom and sometimes can be seen in 3 to 4feet of water and are quite used to turbid or low visibility waters. Either on its own or in small groups they feed on eels, reef fishes and crustaceans. When schools of anchovies or reef fishes are found, they feed excitedly in fair numbers…called a feeding frenzy. They are supposedly the most timid of the common Carcharnidae sharks found in the reefs but there has been a few attacks even so, more the case of mistaken identity than a deliberate attack. This shark are movers and not sedentary and although they can pump water over its gills for a short time, it is more equipped for constant moving. Their young can often be seen in shallow waters as well. Born alive, these pups measure between 33 and 52cm and are quite often spotted in loose groups foraging in the rubble.

These sharks have a reputaiton of being sluggish, often found resting on the in caves and or under ledges during the day sometimes found sharing the same cave with other white tips. Like the black tip, the white tip are usually found in shallow waters but prefer to forage around coral heads and in passageways. It has a streamlined body, which allows it to manoeuvre and slip through coral passes with agility. it differs from the black tip in that the white tip pumps water over its gills therefore allows it to remain motionless for long periods of time.

White tips occasionally feed during the day but are nocturnally active, scouring coral nooks and crannies for fishes and on a 'change of diet' day….octopus and squids are also eaten.

Females give birth to their young pups between 1 to 5 each time and at birth these young sharks measure 50 - 60cm.

These sharks are found patrolling the steep walls below the depths of 20-30m. The Silvertip looks very similar to the white tip except that the Silvertip is more slender and has white tips on the pectoral fins. Not to be mistaken for a white tip, this shark is aggressive and wary of divers. The shark's close scrutiny of divers may be a little unnerving especially when it decides to investigate a little further than expected. It feeds on a variety of large pelagic such as wahoos, tunas and reef creatures like eagle rays and wrasses. This shark should be taken seriously as it can be erratic towards newcomers into its territory and remember, sharks can take on enemies much larger than itself.

This shark is commonly seen patrolling the outer reefs at depths of between 5 - 20m. They are quite often found in packs, and appear to be dominant over the other two common reef shark species. The white tip would obligingly give way to a grey reef, turning aside when approaching. The grey reef has homesite attachments although it's not clear if they have territories. This is one species that can get aggressive if provoked or feel trapped. It pushes its pectoral fin tips downwards, arches its body and swings its head side to side when pushed into a corner. When pressured even more, the grey reef opens and closes it jaws repeatedly and swims at increasing speed before the lunge.

This shark is distinguished from other species, where it has a long tail about ½ its total length, has barbels on each corner of its mouth and has spots sprinkled on its body. It makes its domain on the sandy seabed where food such as gastropods, molluscs, crustaceans and other fishes are found aplenty. The female deposits several egg cases as big as 8 x 17cm and when the pups are hatched, they show a diifferent coat from its parents….black with zebra-like bars which is why this species is also known as 'zebra shark'.

The Tawny Nurse shark has a set of feelers or barbels just below its snout, is a bottom dweller and feed during the night and rests during the day. It sucks in its prey with a powerful suction and prefers crustacean for dinners more than they would a diver or two. It is found that some sharks are repelled by the presence of human sweat thus there are more ways of avoiding a shark encounter than just the plain old 'turn around and run for it' attitude..but in this case, there really is no need to, the Nurse Shark is harmless.

This gigantic fish is the largest known fish…and they are 100% harmless. Whale sharks can grow to a size of a local traditional fishing boat and are found to be migratory, presumably moving in search of food supplies consisting of fish, squids and crustaceans. It is seldom seen but having the opportunity to meet one during a dive is a dream for many a diver. To swim beside a whale shark, feel its gentleness, dissolve in its presence….must be a truly moving experience! A female may be able to bear 100 young pups each time, keeping them safe in its uterus and is born alive, each measuring 60cm in length.

Scientists believes the oddshaped head of the hammerhead shark serves for greater manoeuvrability and sensory capabilities. The eye set at the ends of the head gives it binocular vision, the flattened head allows it to slice through the water swiftly, the wide surface area at the top of the head has sensory cells for detecting pressure changes and electromagnetic fields. The hammerhead shark is not a freak after all, how they look are perfectly functional and is testimony of its success as a species that has been roaming the sea for millions of years.

Hammerheads can be found in large groups sometimes forming schools of as many as 100 individuals. An awesome sight to behold but remember this shark is potentially dangerous but attacks are rare.

Illustrations provided by Dennis Ho: Underwater photography by Moti Uttam

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