#Moray Coast

[chrisburke]

Visiting the Moray Coast and Bow Fiddle Rock 🪨🌊

[nicdasl]

Nhebb the Eel

[gothicprep]

popeye’s, the fast food restaurant, used to have “Louisiana fast” as their slogan. but speaking as someone who once lived in the deep south, that is not fucking comforting. food from louisiana is either amazing creole cooking or the worst thing you’ve eaten in your life.

[bumblebeeappletree]

We've been developing a community-led native oyster and seagrass restoration project in the Scottish Highlands.

🌾 To support our work you can become a member here: https://mossy.earth

MOSSY EARTH MEMBERSHIP

===============================

The rewilding membership that restores nature across a wide range of ecosystems.

🌲 Support a diversity of ecosystems

🐺 Rewild habitats to bring back biodiversity

🦫 Fund neglected species & ecosystems

Learn more and become a member here: https://mossy.earth

💪 OUR PARTNERS IN THIS VIDEO

===============================

🌊 Moray Ocean Community

IG: @morayoceancommunity

X: @morayocean

CCN:https://www.communitiesforseas.scot/c...

⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️

00:00 Intro

01:19 The beginning

03:06 The community

03:26 Nessie

05:19 Drone mapping

07:45 Why we care about these species

08:57 Our tasks

10:41 Going underwater

14:10 Costs

14:52 Our plan

🔎 ABOUT THIS PROJECT

===============================

Native oysters (Ostrea edulis) are considered functionally extinct in many parts of Europe. Native oyster beds were once widespread in the UK and known as ‘the poor man’s food’, but have declined by 95% in the United Kingdom since the mid-19th century. This habitat-forming species would have once been present throughout our coastlines alongside other habitats such as seagrass beds, but now they are either absent or in relatively small, fragmented populations. There are no known remaining wild native oyster populations within the Cromarty Firth, but they were present in the area in the recent past. This community-led marine enhancement project, in partnership with Moray Ocean Community, aims to reintroduce native oysters to the Cromarty firth and generate open access data on the coastal and marine habitats found in the wider area.

Find out more about this project here: https://www.mossy.earth/projects/nati...

[gijoe-forever]

[sleepingswift85]

Final #CloudGrab capture of the coast at Cullen, Moray as I set off for the central belt yesterday morning, it was very wet too! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 - 19.06.23 ☁️

[anguilliforme]

this world eel day we need to reflect on the eels that are endangered and think about why that is. here are some endangered eels that may be local to you:

Critically endangered:

European eel

Found throughout europe and the northern coast of africa, this eel is under continuous decline due to overfishing, various human actions changing or destroying waterways (commercial development, mining, roads and railways, logging, dams etc), pollution, and of course- climate change.

Endangered:

New Zealand longfin eel

Found in well. new zealand. this eel is threatened by modifications to existing water systems, pollution, and climate change.

Japanese eel

Found in east asia, this eel is heavily farmed for food but the population in the wild is decreasing. It is threatened not only by fishing, but also housing development, mining, human modification of existing waterways, pollution and climate change.

American eel

Lives in freshwater and estuaries along the eastern coast of north america. It is threatened by pollution, mining, human modification of existing water systems, climate change, fishing, and invasive species.

Gymnothorax parini

(no image available), a moray eel that lives in the west indian ocean. It is threatened by commercial fishing occurring in its limited range.

They may not be the most photogenic or traditionally "cute" creatures, but eels are so important to the environment, from being important predator species to being sources of food for birds and larger fish. if we lose eels we lose a lot more.

[herpsandbirds]

Green Moray (Gymnothorax funebris), family Muraenidae, off the coast of southern Florida, USA

photograph by @dohertyphotography

[fatkish]

Aizawa x Autistic Cat Quirk Reader 2/3

(Again artwork is not mine, I found it on Pinterest)

The link for part 1 can be found below

(Now let’s continue)

After the Boss’s wife took charge and interfered with (read as: lovingly made sure your socially awkward and shy ass wouldn’t pass up a perfectly good chance to get with a ‘handsome and sexy man’) your love life and set you up for a date with the scruffy yet handsome Pro, Aizawa texted you two weeks after the exchange asking you out to lunch on a Saturday.

After freaking out and panicking for a good 30 minutes worrying about what to write back you texted back a thumbs up emoji followed by “yes”

Aizawa gave you the details for what day and time he’d come pick you up two weeks before your planned date and told you not to stress about anything and that if you were more comfortable meeting up outside the cafe then he’d be happy to pick you up there.

Needless to say two weeks went by fast and you couldn’t sleep that Friday night and started getting ready 5 hours before you were supposed to meet. You did your hair after taking a shower and put just a bit of makeup on to hide your tiredness and to accentuate your eyes. You dressed up in cute and semi-fancy outfit that was still comfortable and made sure to bring your keys, wallet, phone and your preferred fidget.

After you and Aizawa met up he took you to a food stall and got you something to eat and then took you to an Aviary/Aquarium.

After you got your tickets and entered the place you latched onto his arm sticking to his side. Due to the various stimuli and being in a new environment you were rather nervous and anxious. When Aizawa saw this he took a pamphlet with a map of the facility and led you through the place guiding you so you didn’t have to think or take in your surroundings, just walk and he’ll guide you.

After some time of walking and dissociating from your surroundings, Aizawa led you to the Kelp Forest exhibit. When he told you to look up you were greeted with this

(Picture of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Kelp Forest Exhibit. Picture courtesy of google. This is the only big Aquarium I’ve ever been to and can be found in Monterey Bay California. If you visit the Aquarium’s website you can see live cams of the exhibits. Also most of this date is going to be heavily based off my experience at the Aquarium)

The view was amazing and and the lighting made it look magical. Your eyes pupils dilated as you took in everything. You walked up to glass and watched as small schools of fish swam passed, lager fish swam and maneuvered through the giant stalks of kelp. Small sharks passed by as you took it all in.

The sight of everything made your mind go blank as you watched in awe. All your anxiety vanished as you watched the kelp sway.

Aizawa walked up to you and simply observed your reaction happily watching you fixate on the large exhibit.

After a few minutes you grabbed his hand without realizing and began moving onto the next aquarium in the exhibit. You guys saw octopi, various different kinds of fish and invertebrates and even got to learn about the Kelp Forest environment and all the animals that take part in this ecosystem. You pointed out the moray eels and their faces staring them in the eyes.

After a bit you guys went to the next exhibit which was the coast line.

You guys walked through the small shark exhibit and the sea bird exhibit that showed different kinds of birds and where they nest. (Aizawa had to pull you away to keep you from jumping over the glass partition and hunting down the birds)

Next you both moved onto the tide pools exhibit where you could pet the stingrays and touch the various creatures that are found in the shallow tides such as starfish, various sea weeds, sea cucumbers, purple sea urchins, small sea anemones, decorator crabs and other small creatures.

Aizawa used this as an opportunity to get insight on what kind of textures you do and don’t like. He even chuckled whenever you got excited and your tail began to sway.

After that you guys moved onto the Splash zone. This exhibit showed you how the waves interact with the coastal rocky landscape and how the animals react and what it looks like.

When the wave mechanism for the splash zone dumped the water to imitate a crashing wave you jumped and grabbed onto Aizawa and tried to scurry away only for him to hold you in place and wrap his arms around you.

After calming you down from being spooked you both walked outside onto the overhanging balcony and outside theater. You both walked over to the railing and looked off into the distance seeing the coastline and the far off boats.

When you went back inside you guys went to the jellyfish exhibit. The tranquil atmosphere and nearly thoughtless movement of the brainless creatures was almost enough to put you both to sleep. You both moved on before you could fall asleep in the middle of the exhibit.

The next exhibit was the open ocean. In a giant tank there was hammerhead sharks, giant tuna, sea turtles, various kinds of rays, a few sunfish and different kinds of sharks.

At one point you fixated on a particular fish and followed its movements and even tried to grab at it when it swam by only for you to remember there was thick glass separating you. Aizawa took a short video on his phone recording your little experience.

The same thing happened when you saw the anchovies and Aizawa had to hide his laugh as you circled the round tank chasing a particular anchovy without realizing what you were doing.

After the open ocean you both went to the tropical exhibit where various different types of fish and corals where on display.

You guys talked about how interesting it would be to take a field trip with his students to the place to learn about the various environments and potential hero-ing and how to handle certain situations.

When you entered the tentacles exhibit you got to see various types of cuttlefish and other cephalopods. Aizawa told you about his one student who would probably enjoy this exhibit.

After that, it was The Deep. This exhibit was designed to show off how the aquarium used its research and technology to explore the sea floor.

Here you got to take a look at what the researchers found and what it’s like to take a dive in their research subs and what kind of stuff you’d see.

Here you were able to see creatures like wolffish and other deeper water inhabitants.

You suggested to Aizawa that it would be a great opportunity to exercise different types of underwater rescues and different types of situations where his students would be in a similar environment and how to go about it.

The more you talked about it the more Aizawa began to see the potential for you to be a teacher. Or at least a guest speaker. As you continued to spew word vomit about the topic he realized how important it would be for his students to understand and gain experience interacting with people who were Neurodivergent and had similar disabilities and cognitive difficulties/differences than them.

After that you guys went to the penguin exhibit as you continued to come up with different situations for his students to learn from.

At the end of the day the last exhibit was the sea otter exhibit. You both watched the otters play and dove into the water. After a bit you realized you had been talking most of the time and had genuinely forgotten to keep boundaries in line.

Fearing that your display of your natural personality would be a turn off for Aizawa and that you ruined any chances of getting together with him you began apologizing rapid fire.

Aizawa was quick to reassure you that he had a good time and would love to continue to get to know you. He told you that he didn’t mind your Autistic tendencies as well as your feline behavior.

After you guys left the aquarium you both decided on a time to meet up again and have dinner.

Aizawa made sure to walk you home as you rubbed your face against his arm.

Once you got to your door you turned around and pounced on Aizawa catching him off guard and nearly knocking him over. You gave him a kiss on the cheek and nuzzled your cheek against his head. Aizawa smiled and scratched you behind the ear as you purred and began grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and kneading it.

After you said goodnight you closed and locked your door and immediately went to bed having drained your social and mental battery.

That night you slept well and Aizawa smiled as he headed to his house to get ready for patrol.

That’s it for part 2 and I plan to make a third. Thank you for all the likes and hope you guys enjoy this one too.

(Sorry @atsukawolfcat if I didn’t tag you. I don’t know how but I hope this is right)

[scotianostra]

October 11th 1297 was the date of the letter from William Wallace to the mayor of Lübeck.

Today in 1297 a letter from Sir William Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray to the mayors of Lübeck and Hamburg was drawn up, saying that "The Kingdom of Scotland has, by God's Grace, recovered by battle from the power of the English".

This is a remarkable piece of history, and I am honoured to have seen it in person when it was on loan to Scotland a few years ago.

The Lübeck letter was first discovered preserved in the Lübeck archives in the 1820s. It was often mentioned in books thereafter. In 1942, Lübeck, on the Baltic coast of Germany, was attacked by Allied aircraft. As a result, the town's archives, including the letter, were moved to a saltmine for safety. At the end of the war, the Soviet army took the papers east. The archives were later handed over to the archive administration of East Germany, but the medieval documents were not among the records. It was assumed that they had been lost.

In the 1970s Lübeck documents were found in the archives of the USSR. In 1990, after some negotiation, the town's medieval records, including Wallace and Murray's letter, were returned to Lübeck.

There have been calls for the letter to be returned to Scotland, whereas it would be nice to have it to display in one of our museums I think it is as much a piece of Lübeck's history as ours, and also as recipients of the letter it is rightfully there property.

Originally, there were two letters; one to Lübeck and one to Hamburg. The contents were identical and the letters were scribed within a month of the Scots’ success at Stirling Bridge.

The translated letter reads......

"Andrew de Murray and William Wallace, leaders of the army of the kingdom of Scotland, and the community of the same kingdom, to their worthy, discreet and beloved friends the mayors and communes of Lübeck and Hamburg, greeting, and increase always of sincere friendship.

It has been intimated to us by trustworthy merchants of the said kingdom of Scotland that you by your own goodwill are giving counsel, help and favour in all causes and business concerning us and our merchants, although our merits had not deserved this, and therefore all the more are we bound to you to give you thanks and a worthy recompense, to do which we are willing to be obliged to you; and we ask you that you will make it be proclaimed amongst your merchants that they can have secure access to all ports of the kingdom of Scotland with their merchandise since the kingdom of Scotland, thanks be to God, has by arms been recovered from the power of the English. Farewell.

Given at Haddington in Scotland on the 11th day of October in the year of grace one thousand two hundred and ninety seven.

We request moreover that you will see fit to forward the business of John Burnet and John Frere, our merchants, just as you wish us to forward the business of your merchants. Farewell. Given as before."

Significantly, the letter carries the only known impression of William Wallace's personal seal, which shows the Scottish Lion Rampant on the front and on the reverse, a strung bow with a protruding arrow. The inscription appears to read ‘William, son of Alan Wallace’, which is interesting in relation to determining just who Wallace was exactly. An Aleyn Waleys – described as ‘tenant le Roi du counte de Are’ – signed the 1296 ‘Ragman Roll’ and he is quite possibly William Wallace’s father.

Another thing about the letter is the fact that Moray is involved with it, Andrew de Moray was, in the North of Scotland every bit as important as Wallace, history tells us that he was wounded at Stirling Bridge and died of his wounds in November so how involved in this was he?, if I had a time machine I would use it to learn more about Wallace and Moray.

This is a great piece of history and as I said earlier, I would love it to be part of our archives and on display in a museum, but it is the property of the people of Lübeck and we as a nation are grateful that they lend it to us on occasion.

[plaguedocboi]

My renewed digging into murder/harm water has reminded me a not life threatening but very unpleasant (and extremely unlucky) experience I had as a young teen on a beach in Forster, NSW, Australia that I think further solidified my already felt unease at being in the ocean specifically.

You’d think not being in the water would mean you’re all good. Turned out hope.

Went for a walk with family late morning along the beach and nothing sus going on at all, there were people swimming in the water, kids playing on the sand, a pod of dolphins hanging out a couple meters off the shore and no danger in sight.

So I decide I’m gonna be brave and walk close enough to the water that the waves coming up just barely go over my feet.

All is good for ~5 minutes until suddenly completely out of nowhere I feel a blinding pain shoot up my whole right leg.

Now some context here is I have some weird genetic thing where I straight up cannot feel all but the worst of physical pain (as in I’ve literally had major chest and abdominal surgery and not once felt any pain or discomfort) and so for me to have felt that level of pain my brain immediately interpreted it as ‘oh fuck my leg has been taken clean off and I’m dying’

I still remember my physical response was to do that same little leap/hop manauver startled emus do which did get me well clear of the water and when I look down there’s the culprit.

Of all the places along this beach for it to wash up I had a man o war wrapped around my foot and ankle.

Now I know we have two sorts of jellyfish here that can and will kill you and I knew that one was very tiny (irukanji) and one was larger but in that moment I couldn’t recall whether that larger one was man o war or box jelly so there I am thinking I’m going to straight up die so I’m losing it as we head back up the beach and I remember as we’re heading back it’s almost like I’m losing muscle sensation in that leg so I’m half dragging the leg along the sand as we go.

Lucked out and happened to be near a lifeguard station and got some good advice and reassurance that man o war are the less deadly one and to just use running water to wash it and it’s stinging tentacles off then submerge the sting site in water as hot as I can handle and kee it submerged because heat breaks down marine creature venom so it’ll take the pain away.

After that I’ve always kept a close eye out for these things washed up on the beach and stay well clear of any. I definitely don’t go in water I can’t clearly see through (so basically any ocean water).

That said I saw in one of your posts mention about you’re tempted to dive again so thought I’d mention the Cook Islands is you have the resources to get there. As mentioned I won’t go in water I can’t see through but the water there is so crystal clear I’m happy to go in and there’s some amazing species there some of which you can encounter just ankle deep. (Parrotfish, triggerfish, morays, giant clams, threadfin butterflyfish, pipefish, general reef fish and I did see a spotted snake eel moving along the shallows once)

Also special mention of the glass bottom boat tours you can do there that take you to a deeper spot where you can get in with giant trevalley. (Sometimes you see turtles on the way over)

I would love to scuba dive in Australia someday (even with the jellyfish) but I had the opportunity once and chickened out so I worry the same would happen again. I did a study abroad trip in New Zealand and took a long weekend in Australia on an island off the coast of Cairns (prime Great Barrier Reef area) and I snorkeled a lot but didn’t have the courage to dive.

And yeah, those jellies sneak up on you sometimes. They’re very devious beasts.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Let's Hear it for the Humphead Wrasse

The humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, is also known as the Māori wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, or the blue- tooth grouper. They can usually be found around coral reefs and steep rocky cliffs in the Indo-Pacific, particularly on the east coast of Africa, the west coast of India, and the tropical waters of southeast Asia and the Great Barrier Reef.

The Māori wrasse gets its name from the distinctive markings that adults carry. Males are blue-green or purple, while females are more often red or orange. Both have unique patterns of lines and dots covering their heads, and stripes running down the rest of their body; early researchers compared the patterns on their heads to the tattoos traditionally used by the Māori people. In addition to its striking coloration, C. undulatus is also known for being the largest member of the wrasse family. Males can reach up to 2 m (6.5 ft) long and weigh up to 180 kg (396 lbs), while females tend to be smaller. Males also have a large 'hump' on their foreheads, hence the name humphead wrasse.

Another feature of note in C. undulatus is the set of large teeth fused into a parrot-like beak. They use this beak to predate upon hard-shelled animals like mollusks, urchins, sea stars, and crustaceans. On occasion, they also feed on smaller fish and moray eels. Due to their size, adults have very few natural predators aside from sharks, but larvae and small juveniles are more often opportunistically hunted by other fish.

Like many coral reef fish, the humphead wrasse is a protogynous hermaphrodite. This means that most individuals begin life as a female, and become male later in life-- known as 'super males', they are larger than males who did not transition. Individuals first become sexually mature at 5-7 years old, and females begin transitioning to male at 9-12 years old. Spawning occurs a few times a year, and during this period over a hundred adults can congregate in an area. The female releases about 20 eggs into the water column, where they are fertilized by her chosen partner. Three to four weeks later, the eggs hatch and the larvae migrate to the nearby reef.

Conservation status: C. undulatus is considered Endangered by the IUCN. Populations have declined due to overfishing and by-catch mortalities, loss of their food sources, habitat destruction, and capture of juveniles for the aquarium trade.

If you send me proof that you’ve made a donation to UNRWA or another organization benefiting Palestinians– including esim donations– I’ll make art of any animal of your choosing.

Photos

Andrew J. Green

Lluís Masuet

George Ryschkewitsch

[pupsmailbox]

MARINE ID PACK

NAMES︰aalto. adrian. adriana. adrina. aegir. aerwyna. akua. alda. aleksy. alon. amphitrite. andrienne. anemone. anenome. angler. aqua. aquaette. aquata. aquatique. ariel. arielle. ashera. aurelia. azolla. banks. barbeau. bay. beachette. beachie. beachy. beryl. blu. blue. bluette. bonnie. brooke. bubble. bubbles. calamari. calder. calypso. calyspo. captain. cari. caspian. cassius. cattail. cean. cecelia. celesea. cerulean. cerumae. ceto. clover. coastalle. coastelle. coral. coralette. coralie. coraline. cordelia. corel. corelle. coron. coronis. cove. cubit. current. cyx. dari. daria. darya. davy. delja. delmar. delphin. delphine. derya. destiny. doria. dorian. doris. dory. dylan. echo. elles. eyre. fern. fin. finley. finn. fish. fishe. fisher. fishette. fishy. flipper. float. foam. fwish. goldie. guinevere. guppy. hudson. hurley. hyacinth. hydropha. ink. inky. isla. jack. jelli. jelly. jewel. jordan. jordyn. kai. kaia. kairy. kelpie. kelsey. lagoona. lagoonette. lagoonne. lake. lana. levi. leviathan. lorelei. lotus. maelyn. malik. maren. marie. marin. marina. marine. marinette. marion. marissa. maritren. marlin. marne. marnie. marvin. mary. maxwell. meena. mer. merissa. merlin. meryl. mira. mirabel. miranda. miriam. moby. molly. moray. morgan. moss. naiad. nancy. nauticalette. nauticalle. nelum. nemo. neptune. nessie. nina. nixie. nori. nova. nymph. nymphaea. ocean. oceanette. oceania. oceanne. oceanus. octo. oscar. oss. osseo. pacifica. patience. pearl. pearline. percy. pike. pine. pippy. pond. poseidon. puff. rain. raine. ray. reef. reefette. river. ronan. rosemary. sachiel. sailor. sandy. scylla. seaette. seamus. searya. seaseaette. seashelle. seaton. sebastian. selkie. serena. shark. sharky. shell. shelle. shelley. shelly. shorette. siren. sirena. sirenette. sirenne. skip. skipper. snapper. sporty. squid. star. summer. sushi. tail. tallulah. teal. tide. tidette. timin. titus. treasure. trout. twilight. undine. valdrian. vert. verulean. waterette. wave. wavette. wavy. willow. windsor. wisteria. world. wyvern.

PRONOUNS︰ab/abyssal. algae/algae. an/anemone. ang/angelfish. aq/aqua. aqu/aqua. aqua/aqua. aqua/aquatic. aquatic/aquatic. bay/bay. be/beach. bea/beach. beach/beach. bite/bite. bleu/bleu. bloop/bloop. blu/blue. blub/blub. blue/blue. bo/boat. brea/breathe. breeze/breeze. brine/brine. bubble/bubble. ca/catch. cae/caer. carp/carpal. cat/cattail. cattail/cattail. chomp/chomp. clam/clam. claw/claw. cliff/cliff. coast/coast. cor/coral. coral/coral. cra/crab. crab/crab. cur/rent. dae/daem. de/deep. dee/deep. deep/deep. di/dive. dive/dive. dol/dolphine. drift/drift. drip/drop. drop/droplet. drow/drown. eel/eel. enj/emjoy. exci/excite. fi/fish. fin/fin. fish/fish. fish/fishe. fish/fishie. fish/fishy. flo/float. flo/flood. float/float. flow/flow. foam/foam. fwi/fwish. fy/fish. gill/gill. glass/glass. glub/glup. gre/green. gull/gull. hi/hide. hunt/hunt. hy/hydro. ink/ink. jaw/jaw. jel/jelly. jell/jellyfish. jelly/jelly. jelly/jellyfish. kelp/kelp. krill/krill. lagoon/lagoon. lake/lake. li/light. lob/lob. lost/lost. lu/lung. luu/luu. ma/marine. mako/mako. mar/marine. marine/marine. mer/maid. mer/mer. mer/mermaid. natu/nature. nautical/nautical. nep/neptune. oce/ocean. ocea/ocean. ocean/ocean. octo/octopu. oyster/oyster. peace/peaceful. pearl/pearl. pinch/pinch. puddle/puddle. ray/ray. re/reef. reef/reef. riv/river. river/river. sa/sand. sail/sail. salt/salt. sand/sand. scale/scale. scuttle/scuttle. se/sea. sea/sea. sea/seaweed. sea/shell. seal/seal. search/search. sh/ship. sha/shark. shark/shark. she/shell. shell/shell. shimmer/shimmer. shine/shine. shiney/shiney. shoal/shoal. shore/shore. shri/shrimp. sink/sink. skul/skel. soul/soul. splash/splash. spon/sponge. squ/squid. squid/squid. star/fish. star/star. stare/stare. sting/sting. su/sun. sun/sun. sun/sunbathe. swi/swim. swim/swim. swish/swish. tail/tail. tear/tearself. ten/tentacle. ti/tide. tide/tide. tooth/tooth. tre/trench. treasure/treasure. tro/tropical. tropi/tropical. tuna/tuna. um/umbrella. urchin/urchin. void/void. wa/water. wa/wave. wash/wash. wat/water. water/water. water/wave. wave/wave. wet/wet. wha/whale. whale/whale. wy/wave. ☀. ⛱. 🌅. 🌊. 🌞. 🌴. 🍥. 🎣. 🏖. 🐋. 🐙. 🐚. 🐚.🦐. 🐟. 🐠. 🐡. 🐬. 🐳. 👙. 💧. 🚢. 🛥. 🦀. 🦈. 🦐. 🦑. 🦞. 🧽. 🧿. 🩱.

[fishenjoyer1]

Fish of the Day

Today's fish of the day is the yellow lipped sea krait!

The yellow lipped sea krait also called the banded sea krait, or colubrine sea krait, scientific name Laticauda colubrina, is a well known aquatic snake. The range of the yellow banded sea krait is throughout the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. To be more specific, along the eastern coast of India and then stretching the coasts of the bay of Bengal to all other Southeastern Asian countries with a coast, including as far as Fiji. Although they are not native to Australia or New Zealand, several populations have been found across their coastlines.

These snakes live nearby coral reefs primarily and shallow bay like areas, as their prey is almost exclusively within these areas. Unlike other sea snakes the yellow lipped sea krait spends significant time out of the water, around 50% of its time once it reaches adulthood. Juveniles spend their time almost exclusively in the water, where they will hunt and rest, but once prey is caught they will leave the water to digest on nearby shores. The speed on land is significantly reduced to that in the water, and as such these animals will attempt to remain hidden during these times, presenting a problem for when unsuspecting animals get too close. Other than to digest, the time on land is also spent shedding old skins, and reproducing.

Hunting is done alone, despite large numbers gathering together before and after hunts, and they eat primarily moray eels. This is done by flushing out their prey from narrow crevices and holes, by probing their head in. They then used their striped tail to convince the eel that their tail is their head, tricking them into attempting to flee in the wrong direction, then once the eel is close enough, they strike. Another thing that the yellow barred sea krait is known for is their venom. This venom is a rather powerful neurotoxin protein from the alpha neurotoxin family, which disrupts the synapses, causing paralysis.

The life cycle of the yellow lipped sea krait is regular for sea snakes. Breeding is done throughout September-December on the gently sloping beaches at high tide, where courtship rituals occur. Multiple male snakes will find a female that they consider large enough to successfully carry eggs. Then, they surround her, aligning their bodies as close as possible and contracting rhythmically, until she chooses one of them. After this, she will lay 10 eggs in a clutch, and hide the nest. In adulthood, they can grow up to 3 ft in males, and almost 5ft in females, and have life spans around 20 years.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

[pochqmqri]

Snowflake moray at Sea Life Sunshine Coast in Mooloolaba, QLD, Australia

[sleepingswift85]

Good morning, in slower gear but enriched from the trip up the Far North the day before… #SunsetGrab capture from yesterday looking out across to the coast at Buckie, Moray 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 - 16.06.23 🌅