Scimitar fish - a photo on Flickriver

Scimitar fish

            This is actually a juvenile spotted drum (equetus punctatus), but the long, sleek, dorsal fin reminds me of a scimitar, and so wouldn't "scimitarfish" be an apt name? 

Juvenile spotted drums are one of my favorite finds. They are not common (maybe one out of every 40 dives based on our dive log), they are tiny (1-2 cm from tip of nose to tail), they nervously swim back and forth undulating their tail, and, in particular, the shape of the dorsal fin is so distinctive among fish. Even the adult spotted drum lacks the long thin "scimitar". (Though, in fairness to who named the species, the adults do have spots that the juveniles lack.) 

They are also a challenge to photograph because they usually are tucked low in the reef, often under ledges or in crevices. And they don't stay still - they tend to constantly circle around. This one was relatively out in the open, so I was determined to get a clean shot. I intentionally used a wide aperture to get the narrow depth of field. On this capture I think I got the eye and the dorsal fin on the same plane of focus and so it became a keeper!

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Taken in: BES Islands / Bonaire / Hato (show map)

Taken on: November 19, 2021

Tags:

Bonaire

Netherlands

island

water

sea

ocean

underwater

salt

Caribbean

Atlantic

marine

fauna

ecology

reef

coral

dive

diving

scuba

macro

tiny

small

cute

fish

spotted

equetus punctatus

scimitar

adorable

stripe

sword

cliff

juvenile

nauticam

dorsal

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curve

swoop

undulate

DOF

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Sets appears in: • 2021 - Nov Dec

Groups appears in: • BORN to be WILD • World Wildlife Showcase (Invited images only) more » • **Optical Excellence Level 1 ~ Admin Moderated • **The New Masterclass** Level 1 *Admin Invite Only* P1- A3 « less

Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, f/5.0, 1/250 sec, 100mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Lens:	EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	100mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Fired
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 11.0.1 (Macintosh)
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