Blue Season Bali Newsletter 2010
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Bali Critter Life - Do you know which marine creature is considered to have magical powers by the Chinese?
Pegasiformes, Dragonfish or Sea Moths – neither did I until I read more about these weird little fish after spotting one during the deep section of a recent Advanced Open Water Course.
They have to be one of the ugliest fish in the oceans and are recognised by their large pectoral fins that are similar to that of the flying gurnard and have the same armoured covering as the pipe fish. Their pelvic fins are also modified, allowing them to walk across the silty bottoms of lagoons and seaweed fields in which they live. They have a snout that resembles a duckbill and highly specialised jaws that can form a tube-like mouth used to suck worms and other small animals from their burrows.
Sea Moths grow to a maximum of 15cm long with a broad body that is encased in thick bony plates and tapers off towards the tail and amazingly have been seen to make short ‘leaps’ out of the water, using their parachute like pectoral fins. There are only 6 different species of Sea Moth in the world and are becoming increasingly harder to find due to the Chinese who use them for medicinal treatments for respiratory ailments and cancer.
In Bali we can see Sea Moths in a variety of locations such as Secret Bay, PJ and Tulamben.
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