Roatán macro

Yellowhead jawfish Opistognathus aurifrons

Key marks: A pale bluish-grey body with pale blue dots and a yellow head, up to about 10 cm, hovering over a pebble-lined burrow. The male broods the eggs in his mouth (Naturalis Caribbean Diving).

At Roatán: Hovers over its burrow on Roatán’s sand patches, where males can be seen airing their mouthful of eggs (Scuba Diving 2018); jawfish live on the sand flats around the Mr. Bud wreck (Scuba Diving 2018).

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Arrow blenny Lucayablennius zingaro

Key marks: Tiny, about 5.7 cm, with a long pointed snout; cinnamon red to brown fading to yellow towards the tail, a white stripe down the top of the head, and black spots at the rear of the dorsal and anal fins. It always holds its tail curled forward, and lives at about 13–106 m (Wikipedia).

At Roatán: Photographed by Megan Applegate at Roatán in 2021.

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Banded coral shrimp Stenopus hispidus

Key marks: See-through, with red-and-white bands on the body and the big third pair of legs, white antennae and other legs; up to about 6 cm. It waves its long white antennae to call fish in, then picks parasites and damaged tissue off them (Wikipedia).

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Pederson cleaner shrimp Ancylomenes pedersoni

Key marks: Transparent with blue and violet markings and long white antennae, about 2–2.5 cm. Lives in corkscrew or giant anemones and waves its antennae to call fish in to be cleaned (anemoon.org).

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Giant Caribbean sea anemone Condylactis gigantea

Key marks: About 15 cm high and 30 cm across, with long tentacles whose tips may be purple or rose (Wikipedia).

At Roatán: A base for cleaner shrimp and small fish (Wikipedia): spotted cleaner shrimp, squat anemone shrimp and arrow crabs all use it (Wikipedia (ES); Marine Ecology Progress Series). On the Bud wreck, shrimp live on the anemones growing on the hull (Divernet 2023).

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Caribbean Spanish dancer Hexabranchus morsomus

Key marks: A large sea slug, up to 40 cm: red, mottled with white and yellow patches, with club-shaped rhinophores and a big feathery gill. When threatened it unrolls its mantle edges to flash the white areas and swims away by flexing its body (Wikipedia).

At Roatán: Found under rocks and coral rubble on living reefs at 0–33 m, in Caribbean waters that include Honduras (Wikipedia). Photographed by Megan Applegate at Roatán in 2022.

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Yellowline arrow crab Stenorhynchus seticornis

Key marks: A triangular body drawn out into a long spiny snout, very long thin legs, fine dark lines on the shell and violet claw tips; 2.5–5 cm, at 3–40 m (anemoon.org).

At Roatán: Arrowhead and neck crabs are named on the El Aguila wreck (Scuba Diving 2018).

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Channel clinging crab Maguimithrax spinosissimus

Key marks: A big crab, up to 18 cm across the shell, reddish-brown, with legs covered in short spines and smooth purplish-grey claws (Wikipedia).

At Roatán: Hides in caves and under reef overhangs and eats algae and carrion (Wikipedia).

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Spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus

Key marks: Purplish-black with round white spots, long thick spiny antennae and no big claws; usually about 15 cm, up to 20 cm. It hides in crevices or under coral heads by day and forages at night, on shallow reefs down to about 23 m (Wikipedia).

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Spanish slipper lobster Scyllarides aequinoctialis

Key marks: A slipper lobster: flat, with broad plates in place of long antennae; up to 30 cm long. Found from South Carolina to Brazil, including the Caribbean (Wikipedia).

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Caribbean reef octopus Octopus briareus

Key marks: Colour changes constantly, often brown patterning over blue-green, and can flash white; 25–50 cm, active at night at 5–30 m (Naturalis Caribbean Diving).

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Caribbean reef squid Sepioteuthis sepioidea

Key marks: A broad squid with fins along the whole length of the body, often mistaken for a cuttlefish; brown by day, changes colour fast and travels in small schools in the shallows (The Cephalopod Page).

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