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Caribbean Sea Life: The List Of the Most Beautiful Marine Animals

Caribbean Sea Life

Divers are witnesses and documentarians of Caribbean Sea life. With every dive, every photograph we take, and every dive story we tell, we inform the world about wonderful Caribbean animals.

Let’s be honest. No Adventure in the world can inspire us more than our intimate desire to discover sea life and identify it.

At Dressel Divers, we help in this task from our Caribbean bases. Here we leave you these Caribbean Sea life classifications and the table of contents in which we divide them.

Types Of Caribbean Sea Life

The Caribbean Sea has more than 6,213mi 10,000 km2 of reefs, 13,670mi 22,000 km2 of mangroves, and 20,500mi 33,000 km2 of seagrass. More than 1,300 species of fish reside in these extensive ecosystems. Mollusks and crustaceans amount to 3000 species, without counting mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and corals.

It is a fact. The Caribbean is a critical point of global biodiversity. So much so that the documents consulted do not agree on the number of species that harbor its waters.

But we are divers, so we do not pretend to make a scientific document, only a guide to help identify the marine life of the Caribbean.

Caribbean Sea Plants

Seagrass

caribbean sea life - sea grass - pasto marino

Seagrass grows near reefs and offers a different habitat. Animals often use them to hide from predators.

Algae

caribbean life - algae - alga

The most common Caribbean algae are coralline algae, which grow as crusts on corals, and calcareous algae, which grow vertically.

Mangroves

caribbean sea life - mangroves - manglares

Mangroves make up an ecosystem in themselves giving support to species of marine and terrestrial animals at the same time.

Animals in the Caribbean

– Fish in the Caribbean Sea –

To make the Caribbean fish identification system easier and understandable, we have divided the different families into 11 groups differentiated by their shape and color. According to the book “Reef Fish Identification” by Paul Humann.

 

1. Disk And Ovals Colorful Caribbean Fish

Angelfish

caribbean fish - angelfish

Surgeonfish

caribbean fish - surgeonfish

Butterflyfish

Caribbean fish - butterflyfish

2. Silvery Caribbean Fish

This group consists of Caribbean fish that are silver to a gray color and generally unpatterned. In addition to those we show you in pictures, we should add the Rainbow Runner, Lookdown, Mackerel, Halfbeak, Tarpon, Bonnetmouth, Snook, Mullet, Flying fish, and Cobia as other species included in this Identification group.

Permit

permit

Needlefish

needlefish

Jack

jack

Porgy

porgy

Spadefish

spadefish

Barracuda

barracuda

Southern Sennet

southern sennet

Chub

chub

Mojarra

mojarra

3. Sloping Head Tapered Body Fish in the Caribbean

We can see these Caribbean fish in schools they are shaped with relatively large mouths and notched tails.

Snapper

snapper

Grunt

caribbean sea life - grunt

4. Small Ovals Caribbean Fish

Tiny (3-6 inches) and colorful Caribbean fish with an oval profile.

Chromis

caribbean sea animals - blue chromis

Hamlet

caribbean sea animals - hamlet

Dameselfish

caribbean sea animals - Damselfish

5. Heavy Body

These Caribbean fish have a strong body mouth with long lips and jutting lower jaw lips. Their long continuous dorsal fin is remarkable and is divided into two parts. The fore part has sharp spines that can be held erected or lowered.

Seabass

Seabass

Marbled Grouper

Marbled Grouper

Grouper

Grouper

6. Swim with Pectoral Fins and Obvious Scales

These Caribbean fish use their pectoral fins to swim and have rows of large scales and mouths similar to beaks.

Creole Wrasse

creole wrasse

Parrotfish

parrotfish

Hogfish

hogfish

7. Reddish Big Eyes

This identification Group consists of fish that range in color from pale red to reddish brown and have large eyes. They are generally nocturnal feeders and hide in dark recesses during the day.

Squirrelfish

squirrelfish

Bigeye

bigeye

Blackbar Soldierfish

Blackbar-Soldierfish

8. Bottom-Dwellers

These kinds of Caribbean Fish spend most of their time perched on the bottom. Some of them are experts at camouflage.

Flounder

flounder

Toadfish

toadfish

Scorpionfish

scorpionfish

Lizardfish

lizardfish

Flying Gurnard

Flying Gurnard

Blenny

blenny

9. Odd-Shaped Swimmers

These Caribbean fish have weird shapes but they are good swimmers.

Trumpetfish

trumpetfish

Balloonfish

Balloonfish

Triggerfish

Triggerfish

Drumfish

Drumfish

Boxfish

Boxfish

Filefish

Filefish

10. Caribbean Sea Eels

Long snake-like bodies of fish in the Caribbean Sea love to hide in dark reef recesses or the sand.

Moray

moray eels

Conger

conger

Snake Eel

snake eel

11. Sharks and Rays in the Caribbean Sea

All these Caribbean fish have skeletons composed of cartilage and hard scales. Usually, It is difficult to distinguish some species and they are easier to identify thanks to their appearance.

Nurse shark

caribbean-sea-life--Nurseshark

Whale Shark

caribbean-sea-life--whalesharks

Pointed-Nose Shark

caribbean-sea-life--pointed-nose-shak

Stingray

caribbean-sea-life--stingrayjpg

Eagle Ray

caribbean-sea-life--eagle-ray

Manta Ray

caribbean-sea-life--manta

– Caribbean Corals –

Corals are an essential part of the Caribbean Sea life, not only because they are animals themselves but also because habitats are created on the reefs that favor an explosion of life. In the Mexican Caribbean alone, 60 species of hard corals and 20 species of soft corals have been recorded.

Hermatypic corals or hard corals

Hermatypic corals or soft corals

Ahermatypic corals or soft corals

Ahermatypic corals or soft corals

– Caribbean Marine Mammals –

Although the number of species of marine mammals is not impressive when compared to the rest of Caribbean Sea life, they come to the waters of this region of the planet for their vital functions. There they feed, mate, and calve.

Dolphin

Dolphin

Whales

Whales

Manatees

Manatee

– More Caribbean Marine Life –

Octopuses

caribbean sea life - octopus

Nudibranch

caribbean sea animals- Nudibranch

Crustaceans

Crustaceans

Reptiles

caribbean marine life - turtle

Worms

worm

Echinoderms

caribbean-sea-life--star

This is a short and simple classification of the marine Caribbean Sea life that is home to more than 627 animal species. We are aware that many of them were left out. What marine life in the Caribbean would you like us to expand information on?