The Sand Diver (Synodus intermedius) belongs to the lizardfish family, a pretty fitting common name when considering their cantankerous expression and how much their face resembles that of a fearsome lizard…..definitely very scary if you were a small fish swimming around the Caribbean sea. The Sand Diver is benthic in nature, meaning that they live on or near the sea floor. They often lay motionless on rocks, with their colourations helping them to blend in well, so well that they are often almost impossible to see. They also often hang out on sandy areas, and get their common name ‘Sand Diver’ from their habit of burying themselves in sand often with only their head showing.
Interestingly, the Sand Diver was once considered to be a mid-trophic ‘lay-and-wait’ predator, a conclusion driven by their camouflage behaviour and ability to hide under the sand. In actual fact they have now been discovered to hold a high trophic position in their own right as active hunters that feed on other predatory fish, and even sometimes considered apex predators. They do not limit their diet to fish though, and also like to dine n small crustaceans and cephalopods. Nice.
A nice Wikipedia entry can be found for this species here.
About Reef Creature Clothing
We specialise in not only coral reef inspired athleisure wear, but also beach & swim wear, and other printed products. All our colourful and vibrant designs are made using digitally enhanced prints of real underwater photographs taken in the Caribbean. We donate all of our profits after costs to The Coral Reef Research Hub, a small non-profit organisation that seeks to help fund research projects undertaken by early career coral reef scientists. The projects funded are those that aim to contribute information that will hopefully lead to legislative change, and thus help to protect coral reefs and their associated resources for generations to come!
We write these regular ‘creature features’ to help you learn more about the fascinating inhabitants of the coral reefs where our images came from. More will continue to be posted over the coming months so watch this space!