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THE LIVING OCEAN SEQUENCE
1. The Great Barrier Reef Package
B. Unknown Fish Below The Surface
giant clam swaying rippling in the water, red & blue polka dotted, shy
amongst the rocks, lives in symbiosis with the sea anemone, sunlight
glittering through the surface, a variety of species, a strangeness of
shape, warm seas, venom glands in the dorsal fins, flux, ebb & flow,
mouths wait opened & engulf, hides in the body of the sea cucumber, or
folds of the pearl oyster, coral flourishes in surge channels, between
coral & down in the deep pools, are to be seen the beautifully coloured,
& many different species, gaudily striped orange & blue flannel, red
head & green tail or green tail & red head, vividly patterned peacock
colours, multifarious, striped & brightly coated in amongst warm corals,
rock in the currents, glide tail first into holes on the coral floor, delicate
pointed snouts explore the coral crannies, lancet spines on either side of
the tail for slashing, a long horn on its nose gaudily banded & quaintly
outlined, gorgeous greens reds & blues, strong beaks for breaking off
lumps of coral, or stony weeds for food, pointed teeth in the jaws,
swims in odd attitudes, sometimes upside-down, gaily coloured,
poisonous to eat in the extreme, has horns like a cows, runs riot with
colours, a long fan shaped spotted tail, texture like the surface of a file,
carving ways through sections of coral, look like pigs & grunt if they are
taken from the water, sing ultrasonic like birds of paradise, coral
haunted, varied assortment, hide under rocks, stones or coral when the
tide falls & can easily be found then, spotted like a giraffe, may lurk in
empty clam shells or under stones, frilly side fins, often croak like a frog
when disturbed, have their territory & guard it against intruders, sucker
for clinging to stones, habit of swimming in schools, conspicuously
striped, form a dense ball of waving bodies & fins, seem to roll through
the water, swimming vertically instead of horizontally, its body as thin
as a wafer, very rough scales, red bodies & large saucer eyes, they are
nocturnal & hide under coral shelves, daytime shadows chasing them, &
the chased, live in the swaying seaweeds & when frightened, up-end
themselves & sway in time with weeds, lives inside sponges & other
growths on stones, urchins are waving, impervious to the stings of their
hosts, nestle in the tentacles that would kill, or drifting through the
wrecks of liquid slow suspension, sway & dart amongst the coral,
advancing & retreating, attacking & withdrawing, the crash & roar of
currents, schools of the unknown, reef predators, eat & be eaten,
ambush, popping in & out of things, picking off those that swim the
nearest, plankton a bizarre of food, the feeling to do nothing more,
than unwind slow tentacles, expand & sway |
