By Jack Williams
This underwater photographer’s fascinating body of work brings to life some of the more unique behaviours of the animals of the deep.
Marty Snyderman has dedicated his professional life to documenting such creatures – including those that clean other fish; guard fertilized eggs in their mouths; and “fish” for their dinner using a natural worm or fish-like lure on the end of a spine that is like a fishing rod that are parts of their bodies.
In order to find such intriguing creatures, Marty, 67, said, a lot of discussion must first take place – be it between himself and fishermen, scientists, photographers, or even local diving instructors.
When shooting his works, the photographer aims to move within one or two feet of the subject whenever possible, and six to eight feet at the most – something he admits can be tricky, given the sensitivity of the fish, whales, manta rays and other subjects.
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- PIC BY MARTY SNYDERMAN / CATERS: A larval slipper lobster riding atop the bell of a sea jelly at night in the open off the Big Island of Hawaii. If it is lucky and does not end up in the belly of a predator during its larval stage, the lobster has a chance to settle out of the water column onto a reef in an area where it has a chance to survive and grow to adulthood. Most dont make it, but this one might.
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- PIC BY MARTY SNYDERMAN / CATERS: A scarlet cleaner shrimp providing its cleaning services to a yellow-edged moray eel (aka yellowmargin moray
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- PIC BY MARTY SNYDERMAN / CATERS: A pair of white-eyed moray eels peer out of a crevice in a reef community off the coast of Puerto Galera, Philippines. While these morays are predators that readily feed on a variety of fishes, crustaceans, and mollusks, they are not aggressive, and they are often misunderstood due to their method of respiration.
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- PIC BY MARTY SNYDERMAN / CATERS: A Hawaiian cleaner wrasse provides its cleaning services to a yellowfin goatfish in a reef community off the Big Island in Hawaii. Cleaner species help rid their hosts of ectoparasites, dead tissue, bacteria and fungi. Studies have shown cleaning to play a vital role in keeping many reef ecosystems healthy.
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- PIC BY MARTY SNYDERMAN / CATERS: A pair of approximately six-foot long Chinese sea kraits (aka black-banded seasnakes) mating in the waters of far eastern Indonesia at Manuk Island, a small body of land also appropriately known by the name Snake Island. Like sea snakes, sea kraits are highly venomous, but fortunately, they ae not aggressive toward divers.
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- PIC BY MARTY SNYDERMAN / CATERS: A juvenile golden trevally, a member of the jack family, swimming just a few inches in front of a highly carnivorous gray reef shark. Specialists believe the behavior makes the jack safer when it swims in close proximity to sharks as it only has to keep track of one potential predator. The jack can react extremely fast if the shark tries to catch it, and no other animal is likely to approach the shark in an effort to pursue the colorful jack. The risk involved is too large for the potential reward.
SLOTH MUM AND BABY SHARE CLOSE BOND AFTER DIFFICULT BIRTH THAT PUT BOTH OF THEIR LIVES AT RISK
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INSEPARABLE DOG AND CAT GO ON HIKES TOGETHER
