Hiding, camouflage & mimicry. Part 16 of my DVD, "Reef Life of the Andaman", available at http://www.bubblevision.com/marine-life-DVD.htm

In this video we look at how fishes and other marine life use different strategies for hiding themselves from both predators and prey.

First we see how the pastel tilefish, Hoplolatilus fronticinctus, hides by diving into enormous piles of rubble that it has built at dive sites in the depths of the Mergui Archipelago in Burma (Myanmar).

Then we look at how the dwarf whipray, Himantura walga, and bluespotted stingray, Neotrygon kuhlii, camouflage themselves under sand on the seabed at various locations in Thailand including the Similan Islands.

The day octopus, Octopous cyanea, shows us how it ejects ink as a decoy so it can make its escape.

Mimicry is a clever way that marine life hides its presence. We see how the straightstick pipefish, Trachyrhamphus longirostris, mimics sea whips to avoid detection, and how the ornate ghost pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus, can change its body coloration and orientation to mimic its surroundings.

The giant frogfish, Antennarius commerson, is an ambush predator. They mimic sponges and their slender dorsal spine, the illicium, is waved around like a tiny fishing rod. Bypassers attracted to the lure at the end of the illicium are engulfed by the huge mouth in a fraction of a second. They are also known as anglerfish.

Scorpionfish and stonefish are also ambush predators. They blend in perfectly with their environment so they can pounce on their unsuspecting prey, but have venomous spines as an extra defence. We see a moray eel colliding with a stonefish at Thailand's Boonsung wreck.

The full narration is available as English, German or Spanish subtitles by turning on the closed captions (CC). There are also closed captions available showing scientific and common names of the marine life in English, German or Dutch, along with dive site names.

Thanks to Coded for the first music track, "Pattern Errors", and to Toao (SOILSOUND Music Publishing LLC, http://www.soilsound.com) for the second music track, "Starbeam".

"Reef Life of the Andaman" is being serialised weekly on YouTube. Please subscribe to my channel to receive notifications of new episodes as I release them. The series features descriptions of 213 different marine species including more than 100 tropical fish, along with sharks, rays, moray eels, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, sea slugs, cuttlefish, squid, octopus, turtles, sea snakes, starfish, sea cucumbers, corals, worms etc..

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