Night Dive - Reef Life of the Andaman - Part 26

Night dive. Part 26 of my DVD, "Reef Life of the Andaman", available at http://www.bubblevision.com/marine-life-DVD.htm or view the whole 2-hour video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ncUVddkK3Q

Night diving offers a different type of experience to the scuba diver, as a different array of marine critters venture out while others rest.

Cephalopods can be successful hunters by night. In Burma's Mergui Archipelago we see a bigfin reef squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) feasting on an Indo-Pacific sergeant (Abudefduf vaigiensis) and a pharao cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis) feeding on a spinefoot.

Pretty moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) drift over Thailand's Boonsung wreck. A great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) passes by the camera at Koh Doc Mai near Phuket. An orange cup coral's pretty polyps are extended. Amongst a group of red lionfish on the Boonsung wreck, a goldband fusilier (Pterocaesio chrysozona), displaying its night coloration, is pounced on and swallowed whole by a a honeycomb moray (Gymnothorax favagineus).

Many reef fishes use the night time to sleep. We see a blackspotted puffer (Arothron nigropunctatus) and a spotted sharpnose (Canthigaster solandri) resting on the reef at Koh Tachai, north of the Similan Islands.

At night, parrotfish surround themselves in a scent-proof cocoon of secreted mucous to avoid detection by sharks. We see ember parrotfish (Scarus rubroviolaceus) and blue-barred parrotfish (Scarus ghobban) using this technique.

It's very difficult for scuba divers to observe fishes at night without disturbing them. We encounter a scrawled filefish (Aluterus scriptus), moorish idol (Zanclus cornutus), humpback turretfish (Tetrosomus gibbosus), emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator), snake moray (Uropterygius sp.), blue triggerfish (Pseudobalistes fuscus) and ornate ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) all apparently disorientated or upset by the bright lights.
The following closed captions/subtitles are available by clicking the CC button under the video:

NARRATION / COMMENTARY:
- English
- German (Deutscher Kommentar)
- Spanish (Narración en Español)

MARINE LIFE & DIVE SITE NAMES
- Dutch (Nederlandse Namen)
- English
- German (Deutsche Bezeichnungen)
- Thai ( ชื่อภาษาไทย & จุดดำน้ำ )

Please get in touch with me if you would like to help translate the narration or marine life names into other languages.

I have more scuba diving videos and underwater footage on my website at:
http://www.bubblevision.com

I post updates about my videos, and interesting underwater videos from other filmmakers here:
http://www.facebook.com/bubblevision
http://www.twitter.com/nicholashope

The video was shot by Nick Hope with a Sony VX2000 DV camera in a Gates housing. It was edited in Sony Vegas Pro then deinterlaced with QTGMC and upscaled to 720p HD in AviSynth.

Thanks to Erik Verkoyen for the 1st music track, "Jewel Squid", and to Mark Ellison for the 2nd track, "The Cool Of The Forest".

Thanks to Santana Diving of Phuket (http://www.santanaphuket.com), to Elfi and Uli Erfort and Daniel Bruehwiler for help with the German translation, and to Frank Nelissen for the Dutch subtitles.

Full list of marine life and dive sites featured in this video:

00:05 "Pinnacle Arch", Mergui Archipelago, Burma
00:29 Bigfin Reef Squid, Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Honeymoon Bay, Similans
00:41 Bigfin Reef Squid, Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Moving Wall
00:59 Pharaoh Cuttlefish, Sepia pharaonis, Eagle Rock
01:19 Moon Jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, Boonsung Wreck
01:36 Great Barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda, Koh Doc Mai
01:44 Orange Cup Coral, Dendrophylliidae, Cavern Island
01:49 Orange Cup Coral, Dendrophylliidae, Moving Wall
01:56 Honeycomb Moray, Gymnothorax favagineus, Boonsung Wreck
02:10 Blackspotted Puffer, Arothron nigropunctatus, Snapper Alley
02:18 Blackspotted Puffer, Arothron nigropunctatus, Koh Tachai
02:21 Spotted Sharpnose, Canthigaster solandri, Snapper Alley
02:31 Ember Parrotfish, Scarus rubroviolaceus, Koh Tachai
02:47 Ember Parrotfish, Scarus rubroviolaceus, Moving Wall
03:02 Blue-Barred Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Koh Tachai
03:08 Ember Parrotfish, Scarus rubroviolaceus, Cavern Island
03:20 Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus, Moving Wall
03:38 Moorish Idol, Zanclus cornutus, Cavern Island
03:44 Humpback Turretfish, Tetrosomus gibbosus, Eagle Rock
03:55 Emperor Angelfish, Pomacanthus imperator, Koh Tachai
04:02 Snake Moray, Uropterygius sp, Koh Tachai
04:13 Blue Triggerfish, Pseudobalistes fuscus, Moving Wall
04:23 Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus, Koh Doc Mai
04:39 Banded Coral Shrimp, Stenopus hispidus, Koh Doc Mai