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It is impossible to give an exhaustive list of fish here, but nevertheless,
let us mention a few large families you will often come across in the lagoon;
for example, the chaetodontidae, little brightly-colored angel-fish that
nibble at the coral in schools of various sizes. The damselfish and clown-fish
(pomacentidae), among the pink anemones' most famous lodgers.
The parrotfish (scatidae) whose 25 varieties, all brightly-colored, are often
eaten marinated in lime juice. The groupers (serranidae), sometimes reaching
sizeable proportions, are carnivorous predators who seem to tolerate man if
he approaches; the moray-eels (muraenidae) lurking in their holes in the daytime
or out in the water at night. The soldier-fish (holocentridae) who resemble
their Mediterranean cousins. The strange little box-fish (ostracidae) who
move about like helicopters, and the leopard-rays (myliobatidae) betrayed by
their blotches when they hide in the sand.
You will also see some of the 17 species of jack
(carangidae) sometimes found
in the open sea, or little sharks which arejust as inquisitive as dogs. The
lagoon-sharks are usually small and not very dangerous. The three most common
species are the blackfin (Carcharius metanopterus), the whitefin (Triaenodon
obesus) and the grey shark (Negaprion acutidens). They can swim
in very shallow water to look for waste food products, and in the Tuamotus you
can see children riding on their backs in 30 cms of water.
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1.
Porcelaine cypraea latior 2.
Porcelaine c. auratium 3.
Porcelaine c. scurra. 4.
Murex drupa elegans. 5. Turridae
lienardia fubida. 6. Mitre
mitra mitra. 7. Strombus
lentiginosus. 8. Cône conus
pennaceus. 9. Cône c.gauguini.
10. Térèbre terebra areolata
11. Harpe harpa major.
12. Lambis crocata 13. Fusinus
undatus
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