Cartilagenous skeletons: the Chondrichthyes

Blacktip Reef Shark over a sandy seabed

Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) cruises over a sandy seabed within the Rock Islands of Koror, Republic of Palau.

Blacktip Reef Shark dorsal fin

Details of a Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) dorsal fin areseen in this midbody shot: the distinctive black over white tip and its free posterior (to the left in this photo) tip via the small gap between the fin and main body. The underwater photographer shooting the same shark from the opposite direction in the background is using a 27cm diameter lens port providing a sense of scale for the small shark species.

Blacktip Reef Sahrk with Sharksucker

A Sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates) rides the left pectoral of this Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopeterus) as it swims over a sandy seabed in the Rock Islands of Koror, Republic of Palau.

Blacktip Reef Shark over sandy seabed

Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopetrus) over a sandy seabed in the Rock Isalnds of Koror, Republic of Palau,

Blacktip Reef Shark with Yellowtail Fusiliers

A Blacktip Reef Shark (Cacharhinus melanopterus) swims with Yellowtail Fusiliers (Caesio cuning) over a sandy seabed near the RocK Islands of Koror, Republic of Palau.

Shark traffic

Several mature female Grey Reefsharks(Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) with mating scras along with imature conspecifics cruise back and forth off Siaes Corner, Koror, republic of Palau.

Mating scars

A female Grey Reefshark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) with recent mating scars along with other conspecifics at Siaes Corner, Koror, Republic of Palau.

Mating scars

A female Grey Reefshark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) with recent mating scars along with other conspecifics at Siaes Corner, Koror, Republic of Palau.

Grey Reefshark

Potrait of a Grey Reefshark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) taken a Blue Corner, Koror, Republic of Palau.

Grey Reefshark

Grey Reefshark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) at Blue Corner, Koror, republic of Palau.

Manta cephalic fin

The cephalic fins also called horns of manta rays change shape in accordance with behavior. As depicted here in this head-on image of one cephalic fin, when swimming they can be rolled into a "horn" to reduce drag.

Sandbar Shark

Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) at Vertical Awareness in black and white.

Sandbar Shark

Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) over volcanic rock in black and white.

Tall dorsal

The Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) is characterized by its very tall and forward positioned first dorsal fin.

Sandbar Shark

The Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) is characterized by an interdorsal ridge that can be observed from a downward vantage point.

Grey Reefshark

A male Grey Reefshark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) cruises by Pyramid Point, Lehua Rock at the north end of Niihau.

Grey Reefshark

A Grey Reefshark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) cruises by Pyramid Point, Lehua Rock at the north end of Niihau.

It came out of the blue

It came out of the blue: a Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) approached me while at the dive site Pyramid Point, Lehua Rock off Niihau, Hawaii.

Sandbar Shark

This female Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) cruised past me while diving Pyramid Point, a Lehua Rock dive site at Niihau, Hawaii

Female Sandbar Shark

Upward view a female Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) at Pyramid Point, a Lehua Rock dive site off Niihau, Hawaii.

Whitetip Reef Shark

A male Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus) passes through a submerged tunnel at the Niihau Arches dive site, Niihau Island, Hawaii. The shark's claspers (copulatory organs) are clearly visible trailing posteriorly from between the pelvic fins towards the anal fin.

In the blue

Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) in the blue off Niihau, Hawaii.

In the blue

Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) in the blue off Niihau, Hawaii.

Niihau shark scenery

A Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), a species classified as vulnerable for conservation purposes, crosses my path on a submerged pinnacle at the Vertical Awareness dive site off Niihau Island, Hawaii. A second Sandbar Shark is visible over the horizon on the right side of the frame. There are a couple of scuba divers to the left of center. Photographed while scuba diving with Seasports Divers of Poipu, Kauai using a Nikon D3X camera in a Seacam underwater housing equipped with a Nikonos RS 20-35mm lens that had been modified by Seacam set at 20mm. As well, two Retra standard strobes fitted with shark diffussors were use for artfical illumination (of the foreground).