GREATER AMBERJACK
BLACK SEA BASS PLANEHEAD FILEFISH
ATLANTIC SPADEFISH
SEAWEED BLENNY
BELTED SANDFISH
OYSTER TOADFISH
24
WBM august 2013
REEF
DWELLERS
• There are two types of
fish, bony and cartilaginous.
Ninety percent of the
world’s fish species are
bony. They vary in size by
just a few millimeters.
• Bony fish live on ship-wreck
reefs, dining on algae,
plankton, small crustaceans,
mollusks and tinier fish.
• A filefish’s spiny scales
have a velvet or sandpaper
feel, thus the name filefish.
• If stood on its tail fin, the
Atlantic spadefish’s body
shape is similar to the spade
found on a deck of playing
cards, hence its common
name.
• Feather blennies have
branching arms over their
large eyes called cirri. Their
eel-like bodies allow them
to burrow within reefs.
• A type of grunt, the
tomtate, plays an important
role in the food chain —
it makes a good meal.
When a larger fish is nearby,
tomtates tighten their school
and move away from the
predator.
• Mackerels also travel in
schools and are fast-moving
fish. Sharks follow mackerel
bait balls, charging them
with an open mouth.
• Due to their small fins,
filefish aren’t great swimmers.
They retreat into reef crevices
when threatened.
• An oyster toadfish may be
ugly, but its markings and
colorations camouflage it
from being consumed by
sharks. Its disguise helps
it capture food by lying in
wait until prey wanders by.
It can live in polluted water
and even without water for
up to 24 hours.