/ LINKS & RESOURCES / FISH ID & WILDLIFEFish ID & Wildlife
WHAT THE SHELL IS THAT!?!
There are probably hundreds of thousands of species of organisms that live in and around the water. There are thousands of species just of bony fish, and they vary widely around the planet from freshwater rivers and lakes to the largest ocean, or sometimes both, or all of the above. There are cartilaginous fishes such as sharks and rays. There are marine mammals. There are corals and sponges. There are nudibranchs, sea slugs, and invertebrates. There are plants. There are all kinds of unique things living underwater. Bravo to these websites that have attempted to organize some of the massive wealth of information we have on these species.
As scuba divers, we are very often strong advocates for protecting and preserving these natural environments. Education plays a huge role in immediate and longer term goals. These resources and species ID guides are some of the resources available to help figure out that crazy looking thing you saw on a dive, and share that information we others. Knowledge leads to understanding and compassion.
We protect what we love.
Generalist Species ID Guides
Coral Reefs
Oceana - Corals & Other Invertebrates
NOAA - Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS)
NOAA Field ID Guide - Threatened Corals of U.S. Pacific Islands
Sharks, Rays, Elasmobranchs
ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research - Shark ID Guide
IUCN/SSG - Shark Species ID Guides
CITES - Shark ID of Eastern Tropical Atlantic (pdf)
SharkTrust - Sharks of British Isles
Reef Life Guidebooks
Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs, Flatworms
https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/40
Jeffrey Rosenfield's Slug Gallery
100 Stunning Nudibranchs of Anilao, Philippines
Sunshine Coast Nudibranchs Guide (AUS)
Regional Online Fish ID Resources
Smithsonian Tropical Reef Institute - Shore Fish ID (Eastern Atlantic/Caribbean)
ReefsOfCozumel.com - Cozumel Reef Fish (MEX)
Queensland Fish Species Guide (AUS)
GetFishing.com.au - Fish ID (AUS)
Florida Fish & Wildlife - Florida Reef Fish ID (USA)
California Fish & Shellfish ID (USA)
UW Sea Grant - Wisconsin Fish ID (USA)
Emerald Diving - Pacific Northwest (USA)
Other Interesting Fish ID Links
Predator/Prey Species via Stomach Contents (pdf)
