Page 299 - French Polynesia
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ight diving can be done from boat or through many experiments. Yet still, their long and hard to discover all of the fasci-
N shore. Popular night dive sites include uncanny ability to change millions of cell nating creatures duirng a night dive.
wreck dives due primarily to all of the fas- formations in both color and texture eludes N ight Dive Fish - Most species of fish
cinating creatures that inhabit these sites in sleep at night, allowing divers to
at night. scientists to this day.
A s the sun settles into the sea the reef E els are active at night and sea eels that approach them much closer than during
inhabitants undergo a complete meta- typically sleep and dwell in caves during the day. One of the more fascinatingly
morphosis, well beyond the obvious docile the day can be seen free swimming at night fish you will see on your night dive is the
appearances of many usually active fish.
By the time the sun has completely set, the as they prey on unsuspecting fish lying in Parrot Fish. Parrot fish can be difficult to
rerefs will have shifted into full nocturnal
mode, with changes literally as different as vulnerable dormant states. There are sev- approach during the day. At night you will
day and night. Octopi swim freely at night
as many of their predators sleep, creating eral species of eels, with the Green Moray find Parrot Fish sleeping comfortably on
vivid imagery of a cornucopia of colors as
their chameleon-like traits enable them eel being the most common, during the day the bottom and easy to photograph.
to change not only color but texture. Stop
and gaze as they perform magically before and at night. B asket stars are among the many enig-
your eyes, seemingly defying physical laws matic creatures inhabiting the sea. An
as they change from one type of organism N udibranch are possibly the most echinoderm - most closely related to Brittle
into something appearing completely dif- fascinating of all night creatures to
ferent. An octopus’ intelligence is claimed inhabit the Night; tiny and insect-like in Stars in that their 5 primary arms branch
to be very close to that of a dolphin—or a
chimpanzee, which has been demonstrated appearance, nudibranch come in every off a central disc and exchange gas via a
imaginable shape and color. From caterpil- water vascular network. They live for up to
lar like crawlers to brilliant multi colored 35 years and reach an extended diameter of
globs. Nudibranch will be unquestionably 1-2 feet.
one of the more fascinating encounters
you will experience on any night dive. Even
highly trained divemasters and professional
underwater photographers have to search
