We took two days to visit an island in the Majuro lagoon where awesome free moorings had been set up by Cary and Karen on Seal as part of a UNDP-GEF small grant.

Time was short but  we saw several new and long lost specimens.

The feather worms were long and slender.

Strangely finned dart fish darted above the bottom.

Bizarre rock moving wrasses spy-hopped from behind corals to evaluate our intentions.

The much maligned crown of thorns starfish is still arguably one of the most beautiful starfish we see.

Tiny inch-long trigger fish were lurking above tiny holes.

Their elders peeked at us over brain corals.

 

 

A rare juvenile yellowtailed coris engaged in a little synchronized grazing with one of its wrasse cousin.

There was yet another flavor of spotted damsel.

We finally found colonies of the special three-banded clownfish that live only in the Marshalls.  They were very brave and swam right up to us to tell us to get lost.

Then S found a pair of octopods.

K used his octopus whispering skills for a close up portrait.  They did’n’t seem to mind.