Rare Ocean Finds
The Ocean is full of incredible marine life. Each way you turn your head while in the ocean in the Maldives you see something different. But there are a few creatures that are quite rare to spot. Here are a few that we consider to be rare ocean finds.
Ornate Eagle Ray
We also call these the unicorns of the ocean. They are incredibly rare, to the point that only a few of our staff have even seen them! They can get much bigger than the more common white spotted eagle ray. But the main difference is the colour and pattern on the back. It has a gold-marbled colouration. They are beautiful to look at.
Torpedo Ray
These rays are also not very common; they are a small round shape and are usually found along the reef. They have a brown/red splotchy colouration. These rays have a unique way of hunting as they can produce an electrical discharge. They use this to stun and immobilise their prey.
Frogfish
These fish are very hard to spot. Here in Baa Atoll they are not common at all; in fact, we haven’t seen one in a few years. Frogfish are often found next to or among sponges. They blend in with the sponge and do not move much, they have rounded shaped features.
We have a few dive sites that have many sponges, and we are always on the lookout for them.
Flying Gurnard
Super rare to see in the Maldives. You can find these fish along the sandy bottom and it might look like a normal fish at first glance. But they have beautifully patterned and colourful pectoral fins (that look like butterfly wings) that they spread out when swimming or in danger. We spotted a couple of these fish early last year!
Hump head parrot fish
If you see one of these fish you will definitely know about it! They can get up to 1.5 meters long and weigh up to 75kg. They look slightly similar to the napoleon wrasse, but their head is a different shape. It has a vertical hump on its head. They are the biggest of the parrot fish family and the largest herbivorous fish found on coral reefs. When we do see this species, they are usually seen deeper and on sites that are close to the edge of the Atoll.
There are many other rare ocean finds, but these are the ones that we haven’t seen in a long time in our little slice of the ocean. Some are so rare we do not even have any photos of the species yet! This is what makes going into the ocean so exciting, you never know what you are going to see or be treated to. Keep an eye out for your own rare ocean finds!
