420 Dive Log Australasia OCTOBER 2026

knew about fish that were marketable and economically valuable. That is, edible! Since then, we have phalanxes of students completing Doctorates on Coral Cod, Nudibranchs and all manner of marine life including our local Short Tail Stingray. It is one of six stingrays that grow to a width of over two metres making it equal first with the world’s biggest Rays. No one has studied them before.Would you believe that there are a lot of questions about their lifestyle that have never been answered? We simply do not know much about them. In fact, we simply do not know about most life forms in the ocean! No one puts a Weedy Sea Dragon on the barbie as they do not have any commercial value.You cannot eat them! As a result, most of their biology is unknown. As always, one of the best study tools available to Science is the underwater camera. Underwater photography is one of the best ways to keep records of species as they appear in real life.The collection of thirty thousand specimens of faded Beetles that Alfred Wallace had for his research into evolution would be brilliantly supplemented

by photography showing their living colours. This true, even more so, for underwater species such as nudibranchs and fish. If the co-founders of the theory of evolution Wallace and Darwin had a facemask, they would have twenty thousands bottles of dead fish in formalin! If they had an underwater camera, they would be serious underwater photographers with a massive catalogue of photos of fish and corals. I keep photographic records of Weedy Sea Dragon life cycles, breeding patterns, and especially facial spots so I can recognise individuals. I also record Botany Bay Angler fish especially when they are with eggs. Photos allow you to document and record stuff. In recent years, we have spotted eggs of the Botany Bay Angler fish being guarded by an adult in December and then in April. We think that it is the male doing the brooding as males but there is no research that has been done to confirm this. Possibly the biggest highlight this year has been the very average quality photo of a mating pair of Pygmy Pipe Horses. Photo is ok but the extreme rarity of the event is makes this photo really special.

well camouflaged Angler fish from Botany Bay

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Dive Log Australasia #420 October ’26

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