Several fish hide or sit on the sand. They do not have a swimbladder to keep them neutrally buoyant in the water and are thus heavier. When they stop swimming they sink towards the bottom where they rest on the sand – or in the sand. They are often in light colors to better blend in with the white sand. Some species are speckled or camouflaged. Thus when you swim from the beach to reach the corals, try to go slow and look careful. – Or when you are at the reef, try to look down into the sandy area below the reef. You will see that fish are there… – and there are more species than those in the book. If you are lucky, you may also see a cuttlefish – e.g. a Pharaoh cuttlefish (see under Invertebrates in the back of the book).
It can be tricky to tell the difference among the species of lizardfish and sandperch, but note the difference in the pattern on the side but also that the sandperch often is standing on its pelvic fins.
The Lizardfish species are also really difficult to tell apart. But look at the patterns on the side of the fish – there are some differences …
The name “Bluespotted stingray” may refer to two different species – and sometimes the Taeniura lymma is also called bluespotted ribbontail ray (in Danish: den hedder Blåplettet pigrokke, men bliver nogle gange kaldet blåplettet pilrokke).