Floreana Island
The Galápagos underwater world is truly fascinating. Today around Champion Islet we had a great snorkeling outing. Crystal clear waters were the perfect setting to the wonderful marine critters we observed. White-tipped reef sharks, Pacific green turtles, colorful invertebrates; huge schools of tropical fish made us think that we were immersed in a huge aquarium. Galápagos sea lions deserve a special acknowledgement. It is not less than fabulous to have the thrill to be face to face with these adorable marine mammals. We had fun with them, oh! yes we had! Just like torpedoes the sea lions were swiftly passing by just inches away from our bodies. Some were teasing us zooming in front of our masks. At the time, we reacted with a mix of emotion and surprise as they blew bubbles at us, inviting us to play. If the latter statement sounds exciting, can you imagine how incredible it is to live it? Words are not enough to describe these strong feelings. I was filming one of these playful sea lions today with our underwater camera. I noticed that after going deep down the sea lion came back with something strange in its mouth, it was a very peculiar small fish that was dead but still looked fresh. After some strong swimming and after twisting and playing with the sea lion, it finally let me observe in detail the fish. Wow! What a surprise! The young sea lion was playing with a red-lipped bat fish (Ogcocepahlus darwini). This bizarre-looking fish species was first described as recently as 1958. Its size ranges from 3 to 6 inches; it has characteristic bright red lips and a dark unicorn-like spike that extends from its snout. It has spectacular pectoral fins that appear more as legs than fins. They use these fins to literally “walk” on sandy bottoms or to “perch” on them. It moves around with hopping movements. The red-lipped bat fish has a unique arrangement of spines in the dorsal fin. The first three spines are far anterior in position (cephalic) and modified to function as a luring device to attract prey.
I will transcribe literally what is written in the best book about fish in Galapagos. This paragraph reflects almost perfectly what I had the privilege to observe today. In their wonderful book “The Fishes of the Galápagos Islands,” Jack Grove and Robert Lavenberg, while explaining about the natural history of the batfish, wrote: “although the batfish surely does not serve as principal source of food for the Galápagos sea lion, a specimen was regurgitated by a sea lion on Champion, and subsequently collected. We also captured a live specimen that was being used as a toy by a pup sea lion, much as a cat would play with a mouse.”
The Galápagos underwater world is truly fascinating. Today around Champion Islet we had a great snorkeling outing. Crystal clear waters were the perfect setting to the wonderful marine critters we observed. White-tipped reef sharks, Pacific green turtles, colorful invertebrates; huge schools of tropical fish made us think that we were immersed in a huge aquarium. Galápagos sea lions deserve a special acknowledgement. It is not less than fabulous to have the thrill to be face to face with these adorable marine mammals. We had fun with them, oh! yes we had! Just like torpedoes the sea lions were swiftly passing by just inches away from our bodies. Some were teasing us zooming in front of our masks. At the time, we reacted with a mix of emotion and surprise as they blew bubbles at us, inviting us to play. If the latter statement sounds exciting, can you imagine how incredible it is to live it? Words are not enough to describe these strong feelings. I was filming one of these playful sea lions today with our underwater camera. I noticed that after going deep down the sea lion came back with something strange in its mouth, it was a very peculiar small fish that was dead but still looked fresh. After some strong swimming and after twisting and playing with the sea lion, it finally let me observe in detail the fish. Wow! What a surprise! The young sea lion was playing with a red-lipped bat fish (Ogcocepahlus darwini). This bizarre-looking fish species was first described as recently as 1958. Its size ranges from 3 to 6 inches; it has characteristic bright red lips and a dark unicorn-like spike that extends from its snout. It has spectacular pectoral fins that appear more as legs than fins. They use these fins to literally “walk” on sandy bottoms or to “perch” on them. It moves around with hopping movements. The red-lipped bat fish has a unique arrangement of spines in the dorsal fin. The first three spines are far anterior in position (cephalic) and modified to function as a luring device to attract prey.
I will transcribe literally what is written in the best book about fish in Galapagos. This paragraph reflects almost perfectly what I had the privilege to observe today. In their wonderful book “The Fishes of the Galápagos Islands,” Jack Grove and Robert Lavenberg, while explaining about the natural history of the batfish, wrote: “although the batfish surely does not serve as principal source of food for the Galápagos sea lion, a specimen was regurgitated by a sea lion on Champion, and subsequently collected. We also captured a live specimen that was being used as a toy by a pup sea lion, much as a cat would play with a mouse.”
