Cozumel Dive Sites
Villa Blanca
Colorful
parrotfish are commonly seen on most of the reefs in Cozumel.
Their hard teeth look much like a beak, and are used to
crumble bits of
coral to find food. Many researchers believe that the parrotfish
is a major source of sand in tropical waters. This spiny
urchin is a relative of the starfish. They are often seen
at night. The
rest of the time they spend burrowed in the sand, where
they feed on organic material.
This brittle starfish makes its home on a sponge. With the absence of light, both appear black underwater. This creature is called "brittle" because it will easily break off an arm to escape danger. The arm does eventually grow back. Do not touch! Those spines do sting.
The juvenile trunkfish
is very difficult to find because it is so small. This
is a very old picture but I kept it here to point out that
removing marine life from its natural habitat is not recommended.
Dive guides in Cozumel will seldom do this today.
