Japanese Dragons
It would be our first dive at Osezaki (Ose), a famous Japanese dive site located in Suruga Bay. We decided to dive on the rocky jetty that was adjacent to the Mambo, the small resort where we were staying. This would give us a chance to check out our camera and dive gear before going further a field. Roger Steene, my dive buddy, had decided it would be best to visit Japan in September, when the water temperature would be the highest. (Note - it is also the typhoon season!) We are both fans of tropical diving, so the thought of water so cold that a dry-suite was essential, was unappealing. Even so, when we first arrived at Ose and saw locals donning their dry-suits we were both a little concerned! Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm - these divers were definitely "over dressed" for the late summer water temps of Suruga Bay. We plunged into the 22 ºC (73 ºF) water for our first glimpse of the Japanese fish fauna. Within the first 10 minutes we had already sighted a number of the fishes that were high on our hit list - these were species that are more common in Japan or that are endemic to the region. This included the oriental butterflyfish (Chaetodon auripes), the bluestripe angelfish (Chaetodontoplus septentrionalis), and the rosy sand perch (Parapercis pulchella). But two of the more exciting fishes I saw belonged to the family Muraenidae -- a group that is near and dear to my heart! On our first dive, we saw two moray species that I had never observed or photographed in the wild before. Our diving at Osezaki and the island of Oshima turned out to be very productive for moray-watching. If you are a moray-buff, don't miss this photo packed CoralRealm Feature Article! It includes eight shots showing the various color forms of the dragon moray (Enchelycore pardalis) and an amazing photo of the menacing-looking moss moray (E. lichenosa). The article includes natural history notes for six moray species. Come join us in our investigation of the morays of the Izu region!
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Fish Lab- Ecology
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