The final dhow trip of the season turned out to be amazing, filled with sunshine, warm waters and dhowsome divers who on the first day ran into a school of Pygmy Devil Rays, playfully offering us a glimpse of why we love being underwater so much. Two dives later and about to start our ascent my buddy and I were approached by an unexpected visitor, circling us languidly with two or so Remoras attached to her freckle-covered sides before abandoning us and slowly cruising back into the shadows of the sea.
The way she moved was utterly elegant and captivating, her long tail lazily propelling her out of sight and I had to curb my desire to swim after her. Sheer magnificence...
After our safety stop the novice diver and I were floating about awaiting for the boat to pick us up and she said that that was the biggest fish she had ever seen.
A real big fish. When I told her it was a Leopard shark she almost burst with excitement, our faces mirror images with shared laughter and happiness.
Except that I was wrong. It was not a Leopard shark.
To appease my OCD Nerd tendencies (I also entered 'do Tuna fish sleep?' in the search engine. You're about to do it too now) I looked for more information on the beauty with the cute spots & elongated tail and after trolling the web I came up with two different shark species: Triakis semifasciata (Leopard shark) and Stegostoma fasciatum (Zebra shark). The first one hangs out somewhere along the Pacific coast of North America so it seemed a no-brainer: The curious shark we saw was definitely a Zebra shark. With leopard spots. Not zebra stripes. But both common names are used interchangeably for the Stegostoma fasciatum.
D'oh. My head hurts.
As most marine life enthusiasts know the aquatic life is not shy at all when it comes to drastically altering their looks (or their sex, for that matter) and Zebra sharks belong to this colorful and diverse underwater carnival parade. In their juvenile state they look like they belong on the great African savanna until they dive into the tickle trunk of awesome outfits to emerge as polka-dotted adults. Simply amazing.
That same day was topped off by lounging on giant pillows in front of a bonfire on the beach together, a full moon illuminating the inky sky. I slept well that night, on the deck with the stars glittering above and the bio-luminescence dimly outlining the boat's hull. With the reassuring knowledge that a leopard-spotted Zebra shark was on the prowl somewhere below.
The way she moved was utterly elegant and captivating, her long tail lazily propelling her out of sight and I had to curb my desire to swim after her. Sheer magnificence...
After our safety stop the novice diver and I were floating about awaiting for the boat to pick us up and she said that that was the biggest fish she had ever seen.
A real big fish. When I told her it was a Leopard shark she almost burst with excitement, our faces mirror images with shared laughter and happiness.
Except that I was wrong. It was not a Leopard shark.
To appease my OCD Nerd tendencies (I also entered 'do Tuna fish sleep?' in the search engine. You're about to do it too now) I looked for more information on the beauty with the cute spots & elongated tail and after trolling the web I came up with two different shark species: Triakis semifasciata (Leopard shark) and Stegostoma fasciatum (Zebra shark). The first one hangs out somewhere along the Pacific coast of North America so it seemed a no-brainer: The curious shark we saw was definitely a Zebra shark. With leopard spots. Not zebra stripes. But both common names are used interchangeably for the Stegostoma fasciatum.
D'oh. My head hurts.
As most marine life enthusiasts know the aquatic life is not shy at all when it comes to drastically altering their looks (or their sex, for that matter) and Zebra sharks belong to this colorful and diverse underwater carnival parade. In their juvenile state they look like they belong on the great African savanna until they dive into the tickle trunk of awesome outfits to emerge as polka-dotted adults. Simply amazing.
That same day was topped off by lounging on giant pillows in front of a bonfire on the beach together, a full moon illuminating the inky sky. I slept well that night, on the deck with the stars glittering above and the bio-luminescence dimly outlining the boat's hull. With the reassuring knowledge that a leopard-spotted Zebra shark was on the prowl somewhere below.
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| Zebra Spots |
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| Showing her true stripes as a babe |
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