Reply #96: Thanks! [View All]

[ForrestGump]

It's hard to tell, but I'd say those are probably blacktip reef sharks (they're common in shallow areas around Indo-Pacific reefs, as in the photo, and look very brownish...I think I see white tips on the fins, too) and the ray is most likely a blackblotched stingray or something similar. Its disc is too round to be a manta or eagle ray, apart from anything else. I've seen blackblotched stingrays that were large -- one was way overr the published maximum size -- and blacktip reef sharks are usually fairly small, in my experience, and can definitely be a bit rambunctious. Kind of nerve-wracking encountering them in two or three feet of water, sometimes, especially when they zip about and when you're moving very gingerly so as not to touch the coral below.

Again, it's hard to tell without known reference points, but I'd guess the total length of the sharks in the picture to be about four feet if they're reef backtips and maybe another foot or two more if they're another species.





I'd also not be surprised if this stingray species is the suspect in Steve Irwin's demise, though the barb from a smaller stingray (like one of the bluespotted species) could be fatal if it hit the heart.