Sea TREKkers across the globe enjoy an underwater adventure like no other. Donning helmets, TREKkers walk underwater and encounter a wide variety of sea life. From the smallest fish to the largest of stingrays and sharks, participants visit with all kinds of calm, cool creatures!
While each Sea TREK experience and location is unique, we’ve got some repeat visitors that frequent our TREKs and wow our underwater guests. Here’s a helpful guide, so that you will know whom you’re hanging out with while under the sea!
Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus)
The Atlantic tarpon inhabits coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons and rivers. Tarpons have a swim bladder, very similar to a lung, which fills with air. This gives the tarpon a predatory advantage when oxygen levels in the water are low. Tarpons can get seriously large! They have been recorded at up to 8 ft. in length and can weigh up to 355 lbs. They have bluish or greenish backs and possess shiny, silvery scales that cover most of their bodies, excluding the head. They have large eyes, and broad mouths with prominent lower jaws that jut out farther than the rest of the face.
Yellowtail Snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus)
Easily identifiable, the yellowtail has a bright streak of color on its sides, running from head to tail. Adult yellowtails live over sandy areas near deep reefs, while smaller adults are found over hard bottom habitats, and juveniles live in seagrass beds. Yellowtail snappers are typically small, but can weigh up to 5 lbs. and measure up to 30 inches! The deep fork of their caudal fin helps them swim quickly through the water.
Yellowtails are often seen in schools, and create a vibrant, colorful atmosphere for TREKkers!
Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Who doesn’t love turtles? These docile creatures are among the largest sea turtles in the world, weighing up to 700 pounds! Their proportionally small head extends from a heart-shaped shell that covers most of the animal’s body.
Despite its name, a green sea turtle's shell is not always green. The smooth shell can be a blend of different colors, including, brown, olive, gray, or black. The underside is a yellowish-white color. Unlike most sea turtles, adult green turtles are herbivores, feeding on sea grasses and algae. Juvenile green turtles, however, will also eat invertebrates like crabs, jellyfish, and sponges.
Green sea turtles are classified as an endangered species that have undergone an estimated 90 percent population decrease over the past half-century.
Rainbow parrotfish (scarus guacamaia)
Colorful and clown-like, rainbow parrotfish possess deep green bodies, and orange fins with streaks of green extending toward the back and tail. Their teeth are fused to form a tough parrot-like beak, which it uses to scrape algae and other organic matter from the surface of coral. The coral is pulverized with grinding teeth in the fishes’ throats. Much of the sand in the parrotfish's range is actually the ground-up, undigested coral they excrete.
An unusual feature of parrotfish is that they are able to change sex, with young females becoming fully functional males. Rainbow parrotfish start off as either females or males (known as primary males). Females may transition to male (secondary males), depending on what is needed for reproduction within a given population.
Cownose Stingray (Rhinoptera bonasus)
Cownose rays are common and often spotted during TREKs. They are typically brown-backed with a whitish or yellowish belly. Although the coloration is not particularly distinctive, its shape is easily recognizable. Cownose rays get their name from their unique forehead, which resembles the nose of a cow.
Cownose rays grow rapidly, with male rays often reaching about 35 inches in width and weighing approximately 26 lbs. The cownose ray feeds on clams, oysters, and other invertebrates. It uses two modified fins on its front side to produce suction, which allow it to draw food into its mouth and crush the food with its dental plates.
Cownose rays are one of the most docile species of ray, which is why they are often used in touch tanks and aquariums. You’ll frequently see these friendly rays in aquarium Sea TREK experiences.
Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)
Though it may appear frightening, there’s no need to cue John Williams. The nurse shark, while huge, is typically not interested in humans, but prefers to dine on shellfish and coral. They are gray-brown and have distinctive tail fins that can be up to one-fourth their total length. Unlike most other sharks, nurses are smooth to the touch.
Nurse sharks are nocturnal animals that rest on sandy bottoms, in caves, or rock crevices in shallow waters during the day. A social animal, nurse sharks can occur in groups of up to 40 individuals.
While most fish, including sharks, must keep moving in order to breath, nurse sharks can remain motionless while resting on the sea floor.
Pufferfish (Tetraodontidae)
Look but don’t touch! Pufferfish developed their famous “inflatability” because their slow, somewhat clumsy swimming style makes them vulnerable to predators. In lieu of escape, pufferfish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts of water or air to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size. Some species also have spines on their skin to ward off predators.
Pufferfish range in size from the 1-inch dwarf or pygmy puffer, to the freshwater giant pufferfish, which can exceed 2 feet in length. They have four teeth that are fused together that continuously grow throughout their lives.
Diet includes mostly invertebrates and algae. Some puffer fish crack open and eat clams, mussels, and shellfish with their hard beaks.
Sergeant Major Damselfish (Abudefduf saxatilis)
Sergeant majors earn their name from their brightly lined sides, which are reminiscent of the insignia of a military sergeant. They are brightly colored in shades of orange, red, yellow and blue, and are characterized with forked tails and a nostril on each side of the head. One of the larger damselfish, the Sergeant Major often reaches lengths of six or seven inches, though some have been reported to reach eight inches in length.
Sergeant Major Damselfish are feisty, and can be aggressive toward other fish when protecting their nests. Perhaps they have earned their prison stripe exteriors.
Sea Urchins (Echinoidea)
There are about 950 species of sea urchins, and they live in every ocean. Sea urchins come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from the long and slender slate pencil urchin to the pincushion likeness of the purple sea urchin.
Sea urchins survive by primarily eating algae. They eat using a structure called Aristotle's lantern. It is made up of five hard plates that come together like a beak. They use their beak-like mouth to scrape rocks clean of algae. This scraping can wear down the plates, so new teeth grow to replace worn-down ones. Sea urchins move slowly, crawling with their tube feet, and defend using their sharp spines, which are sometimes toxic.
Sea Urchins have a rich fossil record dating back approximately 450 million years!
Arrow crab (Stenorhynchus seticornis)
The Arrow Crab has extremely long legs! The legs of an Arrow Crab can be more than three times its body length. It’s named Arrow Crab due to its triangular shape.
Like most crustaceans, arrow crabs shed their exoskeleton as they age. The new skin hardens with calcium carbonate, which is acquired from seawater and by ingesting their old shell. Arrow crabs are nocturnal and territorial, although they do enjoy the company of sea anemone.
While we can’t guarantee you’ll share your TREK with these specific ocean dwellers, we can promise you’ll have an amazing encounter with fascinating sea life, and a great TREKking experience! How many have you seen on your TREK?
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