A few pictures from Utila

[Scubagal]

We got back from Utila very early Sunday morning. I got a chance to try out my new Canon S90 in an Ikelite housing with an Ikelite AF35 strobe. Unfortunately I managed to flood the strobe but I'm hoping it's salvagable. I'm sending it into Ikelite tomorrow. The Canon S90 is a powerful little camera, getting it dialed in was not an easy task. My husband Lloyd gets all of the credit for helping me get it set up. Highlights from the trip included 2 lionfish, the largest nurse shark Lloyd and I have ever seen (no pictures of it as that's the dive I flooded my strobe on), the largest eagle ray we've ever seen (6 ft. wingspan at least and thick), several large eye toadfish, several very large green moray eels, a couple of hawksbill turtles, and much more. I will write a full trip report with a lot more pictures but in the meantime here are a few teaser pics.

http://divertodiver.scubadiving.com/albumtn.aspx/mid_90-2DF532E6517F4153B8E397B991813ADE.jpg

http://divertodiver.scubadiving.com/albumtn.aspx/mid_90-DAB3BDAADB104C618FFFFC925C57D81C.jpg

http://divertodiver.scubadiving.com/albumtn.aspx/mid_90-D35309BE477F4BB481B0C2D56BD16B5E.jpg

[Wkndbum]

Connie those pictures are great, can't wait to see the rest.

[Scubagal]

Connie those pictures are great, can't wait to see the rest.

Thanks Terry. It's a good ratio, I get about 1 good shot for every 75-100 pictures I take. LOL. ;)

[b1gcountry]

I like the Barred Hamlet shot. It kinda looks like a juvenile.

Tom

[Atlaua]

I love finding juvenile drums.

[Scubagal]

I like the Barred Hamlet shot. It kinda looks like a juvenile.

Tom

Thank you for the ID! My husband loaned out our Humann book prior to our trip and hasn't gotten it back yet.

[b1gcountry]

Thank you for the ID! My husband loaned out our Humann book prior to our trip and hasn't gotten it back yet.

It might be either a juvenile or a hybrid, I think the Barred Hamlets usually have a dark stripe near their tail as well as midbody, but I'm not certain.

Hamlets are kind of a anomaly in the Caribbean since they are really one species with a bunch of different coloration patterns; kind of like in dogs how one breed can have Fawn, Brindle, Harlequin, Mantle, etc. colorings. The Hamlets of one color pattern tend to prefer breeding with other Hamlets of the same color, which leads to the popular color variations seen in the Caribbean. A lot of these color patterns are regional. You won't see Yellowtail Hamlets in Cozumel or Grand Cayman, but they are very common in Bonaire. The Barred Hamlet is the most common Hamlet in the Caribbean.

I really like watching them. They are a pretty timid fish during the daytime, but around dusk, they pair up, and are not at all timid about their courtship. The are all simultaneous hermaphrodites, so they take turns swimming around each other, and making spawning clasps. One will wrap its body around the other for a split second, then they will switch roles. They do this like 5-6 times each time they spawn.

Tom