Maldives Marine Life
Maldives scuba diving adventure will take you closer to underwater kingdom filled with gray reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, dolphins, tunas, mantas, snappers, groupers, parrotfish, napoleon wrasses, surgeonfish, eels, turtles, octopus, lobsters and many other species of fishes and invertebrates.
Corals
There are several kinds of corals of which the stony coral (Order Madreporaria or Scleractinia), numbering around a thousand species, is the most widely distributed. Living either solitarily or in colonies, stony corals occur in all tropical oceans, growing best up to 30 meters. These corals are also sometimes seen at an incredible depth of 20,000 feet. Stony corals make up vast coral reefs and Atolls, some of them as old as 70 million years. When one polyp dies another takes its place and continues to grow until the reef is created.
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However by nature they are slow in growth (averaging about 5 to 28 mm a year), a damaged or destroyed reef requires a long time to rebuild. The most common and most popular types of stony corals include the mushroom, the brain, the staghorn, and the star corals, all named so for their distinctive shapes. The 1,200-odd species of horny corals (Gorgonacea) thrive in shallow tropical waters. Their branches, sometimes ribbon-like, can grow to lengths of occasionally up to 10 feet. The rose coral belonging to this class is used in making interesting pieces of jewelry. The one living species of blue coral (Coenothecalia) occurs on the reefs of stony corals. Colonial oceans where they form large lumps, some of them spanning two meters in diameter.
Other kinds of corals include the black and thorny corals (Antipatharia), numbering a hundred species; and soft corals, a widely distributed group. Soft corals are not true corals. One important distinguishing factor is their tentacles which, instead a being simple as in true corals, are fringed and each polyp has 8 tentacles instead of the usual 6 or a multiple of 6. A close relative of soft corals is the beautiful organ-pipe coral, which when it expands resembles a delicate flower. The organ-pipe consists of a mass of vertical tubes, joined at intervals throughout their length by thin horizontal plates. The purplish skeleton contains a pale lilac-coloured polyp.
Sharks
Among the sharks that inhabit the Maldivian waters are the Grey Reef Shark, Nurse Shark, Silver-tip Shark, White-tip Shark and the Black-tip Shark. The “Grey Reef shark” belong to the category of active predators and therefore they have elaborate ears and a lateralis system which can alert and locate the source of sound quickly and accurately. They also have a very strong sense of smell.
They are known to have attacked humans in other seas but not in the Maldivian waters. Maldivian divers believe that this is because these waters around the archipelago are abundant in food. They also agree that sharks have far more reason to fear humans than humans have to fear sharks.
Eels
Eels live in holes and crevices in the corals. They have a serpentine motion. Eels are strong animals with sharp teeth. They feed on fish and crustaceans, mostly at night. Unless provoked they do not attack divers. Moray eels are common in the Maldivian waters. They are curious of human beings.
Turtles differ from all the other species discussed in this web site. They are reptiles. Sea reptiles are the most threatened of all the animal groups. The hawksbill turtle has been hunted by man to make jewelry and ornaments and is in danger of extinction. Females deposit a clutch of eggs on the sandy coasts of the Maldives . When hatched, the young turtles swim away, but only a few will survive to reach adulthood. The Maldivian waters are one of the richest in hawksbill turtles.
Ray
Rays are formidable creatures of the ocean, Manta Rays, Sting Rays and Eagle Rays are the commonest rays in the Maldivian waters. The Manta Ray which grow up to 5 meter, is the largest ray in the World. Manta rays are also known as “horned rays” because of the two small fins on their head. They take in small fish and plankton while swimming and drain out the water. Manta rays are not aggressive.
Maldives Tropical Fish
Fish are found in an extraordinary range of habitats, from mountain streams to hot springs and at depths below 7,000 meters. There are some 20,000 species of fish and the Maldivian reefs and seas boast of over 2,000 species.
The waters around the Maldives are abundant in rare species of biological and commercial value.
Some of the fish you can see in Maldives are Skipjack, also called Maldives Fish, Dogtooth Tuna, Butterfly fish, Sweetlips, and Fusiliers, colorful snappers, barracuda, batfish and trevally jack
