The lion hunts tonight

So back as I am from a quasi-successful sharking expedition let's have some underwater posts. Before we get to the sharks I want to share a video of another hugely successful red sea predator, Pterois volitans aka the Lionfish. This one was using our torchlights to hunt small cardinalfish out over the sand during a night dive.

There are a few things to watch out for:
A) the total confidence with which a relatively small lionfish moves out in the open at night, those venomous fin rays keep it pretty chillaxed;
B) the way it uses those fins to coral and herd the victims before striking;
C) the apache gunship style pre-strike tilt; and
D) the epic speed with which it strikes when the time comes.



This is, of course, the same species creating havoc as an invasive introduction in the tropical Atlantic. This one however was in its native range and therefore awesome. I have another lionfish video to share but we'll keep that for another time....