My Cuban Diving Adventure Trivia Quiz

Answer: Great barracuda

What a fish to see! The great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) grows to 1.8 meters in length, though the one I encountered and photographed was about a meter long. Known by its distinctive underbite, the barracuda is a dangerous predator in Caribbean waters, to other fish, of course.

Barracudas are also pack hunters, and will also work as a team to herd schools of prey into shallow waters so that they can feast on them when they're ready to dine.

Answer: Their long legs resemble those of a spider

This tasty morsel (Mithrax spinosissimus) is not commonly harvested for food, but is said to be delicious. I did not take this one back to the resort for dinner and let it continue on with its underwater life.

Spider crabs form several families of crabs that can be found all across the world's oceans. They have long legs that resemble a spider's legs, hence their moniker. They're omnivores and also feed on dead sea life that gets to the ocean floor. Some studies have shown that the larger their living space, the larger these crabs tend to get - up to 2 kg. in mass.

Answer: spotted

The spotted moray eel (Gymnothorax moringa) is one of nine typical eels to the Caribbean Sea. They usually shelter in the reef with only their head protruding, lying in wait for small fish to swim by. When the prey does happen along, they quickly seize it with their three rows of needle-sharp teeth.

The spotted moray eel is white with brown spots that vary in density from eel to eel. They really do resemble freckles. Sometimes, these eels are kept as aquarium fish, however, with their full length of up to a meter, they'd require a really large tank.

Answer: Blue

The green moray eel (Gymnothorax funebris) is called "green" because the yellow moray eel is a different species of eel that lives in the oceans between Australia and New Zealand. Despite the name, they are yellowish in colour. However, their skin is actually blue! So why the yellow colour?

The green moray's body is covered in a yellow mucous that serves two purposes, first of all, it helps to camouflage the eel in the brownish reefs it usually inhabits, and secondly, it protects the skin of the eel from bacterial infections.

The green moray eel is the most common eel seen in the Caribbean Sea and also the largest, some specimens reaching 2.5 meters in length.

Answer: It's a critically endangered species

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is considered critically endangered, meaning, 80% of the population of this species has died off in the last three generations. This is entirely due to humans hunting this turtle, for its meat which is considered a delicacy in some Asian countries, and for its shell, which is mostly decorative.

The hawksbill turtle is a very friendly sea turtle, and its range is throughout the tropical regions across the world. It came right up to us divers and didn't seem to mind our presence at all. Apparently, Cuba is a feeding ground for these turtles, so I was right in their territory when I was diving. Nevertheless, it's illegal to harass or scare these fine creatures, especially when diving.

Answer: No

Along the bottom of the Cuban seas are many of these Caribbean whiptail stingrays (Himantura schmardae). They lie dormant for prolonged periods, and sand will collect atop their flattened body. Some of these rays that we saw were quite large, near the 2.2 meter maximum diameter of their disc.

These stingrays are not electric, but rely on the element of surprise in order to catch their prey. Often they are seen foraging for food, which also means they eat carrion. They are dark brown or grey on the top of their bodies, and a lighter whitish-yellow on the bottom.

Answer: Spines

The flat needlefish (Ablennes hians) is certainly an oddly shaped fish. It resembles a elongated flute at times. Though of course it has a spine, it has no spines along its fins. Spines are usually what give a fish's fins their shape, however, the needlefish has a mechanism of soft rays instead for reducing their profile even more when they need to.

Needlefish are extremely attracted to lights at night, and they've been known to jump out of the water to get at those lights. Indeed, there have been cases where the needlefish's head has pierced body parts of a human and has killed them, however, there was not much danger of that during a day-time dive.

Answer: Middle-frequency vocalizations

The longspine squirrelfish (Holocentrus rufus) is known as 'longspine' because it has an elongated third spine in its anal fin as opposed to the regular squirrelfish which has a regular-looking anal fin. This colourful Caribbean fish is easily recognized by its large eye and red-orange colouring.

Squirrelfish and soldierfish are a species of fish that is able to make vocalizations, usually in the 1 kilohertz to 6 kilohertz range. Different sounds have different meanings, but, generally, the less of a perceived threat to the squirrelfish, the deeper the grunt that it makes. The squirrelfish make clicks and grunts by compressing and vibrating their swim bladder. Other squirrelfish will hear a fellow squirrelfish's call of distress and they will hide in their crevices and come to assist when possible. Sometimes, several squirrelfish will vocalize together at a local threat.

Answer: No

The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is one of the most docile species of shark and have never actually have been documented to attack humans. Nurse sharks are nocturnal and spend their days lying on the ocean floor conserving energy. Unlike many species of sharks, nurse sharks have an alternate breathing mechanism that allows them to remain motionless and still be able to breathe. They are able to jet water over their gills while stationary.

Nurse sharks are largely bottom-feeders, and have a small mouth. Nevertheless, just the thought of diving with sharks was scary for some people though quite exhilarating for me. They'll feast mostly on small fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Their prey is generally either slow or unsuspecting because nurse sharks tend to be quite sluggish.

Answer: It has venomous barbs on its tail

The spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) didn't even glance in our direction as it glided past us. It is a large ray, though not as large as the manta ray. It usually has venomous barbs on its tail, however, as the rays tend to avoid human divers, there is very little chance of actually getting poisoned by one of these.

The eagle ray has a dark blue or brown body with many white spots on it. It has a jaw and tooth structure that enables it to feed on hard-shelled clams and other mollusks, food that's readily found in the Caribbean Sea. Because of industrialization and overfishing, the spotted eagle ray has been given 'near threatened' status on the endangered species list.