Key Largo Florida

Key Largo Reef Animals and Fishes

The reefs around Key Largo are home to over 260 species of tropical fish and around 80 species of coral, not to mention countless other invertebrates. In terms of fish and sportfish, some of the most commonly encountered are parrotfish, wrasses, grunts, damselfish, snappers and barracudas. Invertebrates commonly seen on the reefs include lobster, shrimp, sea cucumbers, urchins and anemones. For most people, the most impressive coral varieties are brain coral, mountainous star coral, elkhorn coral, and sea fans. This variety of marine life provides spectacular opportunities for underwater photography!

PARROTFISH occur in about 15 varieties that are frequently spotted on the reefs of the Florida Keys Reef Tract. For most of those species, however, the males and female are different colors, and often the juveniles are at least one other color, leading to somewhere around 50 different color varieties, any color of the rainbow (and in the case of Rainbow Parrotfish, all of them!). The fish tend to complicate things by making an amazing change towards the end of their life, too. Many parrotfish (along with wrasses and groupers, among others) are protogynous sequential hermaphrodites. This means that nearly all hatch out as females, and when there is a shortage of reproductive males, each female has the ability to change into a male!

Like parrotfish, wrasse are generally protogynous hermaphrodites, but unlike parrotfish, most start out on the reef working as "cleaners". These juvenile wrasse will form a "cleaning station" around a coral head waiting for larger fish to approach and indicate that they want to be cleaned. Upon the right signal (frequently flaring gills and occasionally changing color), the cleaners will approach the larger fish and swarm all over its body, picking off parasites and removing dead skin, a very important part of preventing disease on the reef.

DAMSELFISH are found nearly everywhere on the reef, and are sighted on every snorkel or dive. The most common species include the zebra-striped Sergeant Major, the colorful juvenile Cocoa Damsels, and the ubiquitous Bicolored Damsel. Damsels are generally small.

Dive the reefs with care and remember that we all play a part in maintaining a healthy reef system.

John Pennkamp Reef State Park
Mile Marker 102.5
Overseas Highway
Key Largo, FL
(800) 326-3521
website: www.pennekamppark.com

See:
• John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
• Pennekamp Reef Information
• Diving Pennekamp Reefs
• Reef Animals & Fish
• Dive and Snorkeling
• Sailing