Scientific name : Stegostoma fasciatum
Family : Stegostomatidae
Size : Up to 350 cm
Depth : Up to 30 m
Distribution : Red sea, Indo-Pacific

 

Morphology : The slender body is beige-yellow, with a multitude of black spots. These spots are more or less round and regular and more or less intense or spread out depending on the individual. The belly is lighter. When young it is black with white stripes.

 

Biology : It lives alone on the reef in search of molluscs, crustaceans, small fish and sea snakes. It is an oviparous species (the female lays eggs, so the embryo grows externally to the mother’s body). The egg-laying rate is 2 to 4 eggs.

 

IUCN red list : Endangered

 

Scientific name : Zebrasoma flavescens
Family : Acanthuridae
Size : Up to 15 cm long

 

Scientific name : Triaenodon obesus
Family : Carcharhinidae
Size : Up to 220 cm
Depth : Up to 40 m
Distribution : Red sea, Indian ocean, Pacific ocean

 

Morphology : The slender body is grey with sometimes a few black spots. The tips of the dorsal and caudal fins are marked with white.

 

Biology : During the day, it remains sheltered in reef caves. At night it hunts for food (fish, cephalopods, crustaceans). It is a viviparous species (the embryo grows inside the female’s belly). It can give birth to several young (5 max.).

 

IUCN red list : Minor concern

 

Scientific name : Sphyrna lewini
Family : Sphyrnidae
Size : Up to 360 cm
Depth : Up to 300 m
Distribution : Circumtropical, Indo-Pacific, Atlantic

 

Morphology : It is olive-grey-brown and white on the belly. The body is elongated and compressed laterally with a broad, flattened head. It owes its name to the shape of its head : scalloped means “sea horn”.

 

Biology : It lives alone or in schools in search of fish, cephalopods or crustaceans on which it feeds. It is the most common hammerhead shark. It is a viviparous species (the embryo grows inside the female’s belly). It gives birth to 15 to 30 young.

 

IUCN red list : Critically endangered

 

Scientific name : Pterois volitans
Family : Scorpaenidae
Size : Up to 38 cm
Depth : Up to 55 m
Distribution : Tropical Pacific, West Atlantic, Mediterranean

 

Morphology : The body is striped with vertical white stripes and red to dark brown stripes. The dorsal and pectoral fins consist of long, free, venomous spines.

 

Biology : During the day they are found in dark places. At night they come out to hunt. It is very common to observe these lionfish in shipwrecks.

 

IUCN red list : Least concern

 

Scientific name : Rhinecanthus assasi
Family : Balistidae
Size : Up to 30 cm
Depth : Up to 15 m
Distribution : Indo-Pacific

 

Morphology : The livery is greyish, ranging from yellow to brown. It is lighter on the belly. The lips are bordered with yellow, a horizontal line extends its lips which gives the impression of a large mouth and helps to deter possible enemies from attacking it.

 

Biology : They have the peculiarity of sleeping on their side and emit small buzzes when they feel in danger.

 

Scientific name : Octopus vulgaris
Family : Octopodidae

 

Scientific name : Amphiprion ocellaris
Family : Pomacentridae
Size : Up to 11 cm long

 

Scientific name : Ginglymostoma cirratum
Family : Ginglymostomtidae
Size : Up to 450 cm
Depth : Up to 130 m
Distribution : Tropical Atlantic

 

Morphology : The body is slender, beige to brown in colour. The belly is cream-coloured. The tail measures at least a quarter of the body.

 

Biology : It lives alone on rocky bottoms and feeds mainly at night on fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. It is an ovoviviparous species (babies are born already formed. They have fed and developed in eggs that have hatched inside the female). Birth of 20 to 30 young that measure about 30 centimetres.

 

Scientific name : Zanclus cornutus
Family : Zanclidae
Size : Up to 20 cm long