Invertebrates

This photo was taken on the reef between Salomon and Honeymoon Bays. There’s a lot of cool invertebrates shown in this one image. Check it out: Christmas Tree Worms on tunnicates, Red Sponges. Fire Coral and a purple Sea Fan.

See more Salomon Reef photos

Waterlemon Cay Snorkel

I’ve often heard that the Waterlemon Cay snorkel is the best on St. John. Maybe so, but it certainly is a popular one. Here are some photos from a recent snorkeling adventure.

(And by the way it’s WaterLEMON Cay, not WaterMELON Cay)

Brain Coral	Parrotfish	Peacock Flounder: Master of Camouflage
Tarpon

More about Waterlemon Cay and Leinster Bay

Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus)

Snorkeling the waters of St. John back in the days, these lobsters could be found in just about any hole or under any ledge on the reef. Now they’re a lot more scarce.

During the day, the lobsters hide out in the dark recesses of the coral reef and may be difficult to find. However, at night the lobsters come out of their hiding places and forage the reef, and if you snorkel at night, you’re very likely to see them out in the open.

Although Caribbean Spiny Lobsters look (and taste) very much like the clawed lobsters found in the waters of the northeastern United States, they are not closely related biologically.

Once upon a time, when I first came to St. John some 40 years ago, the reefs were extremely colorful. Much has changed since then and the abundant hard corals that provided so much of the color have been severely depleted and those that remain are often unhealthy. Now it seems that most of the vibrant colors of the reef come from sponges, which can be seen in a multitude of varying colors, shapes and sizes.

Sponges, in case you weren’t aware, are animals, as are most of the creatures that make up the coral reef such as all the hard corals, the so called soft corals or gorgonians like sea fans and sea rods, and the sponge-like tunicates that often encrust rocks dead coral. As a matter of fact, the only plants on the reef that come to mind are algae and sea grasses.

Sponges are the simplest of the multicellular animals. Lacking any real organs, they survive by taking in water through small pores, filtering out the nutrients and oxygen and expelling the rest through the more visible larger openings.