Last update – August 15
Pending:
1. Bartol Photos (10)
2. Black Coral – Hawksbill feeding and Coral Hawkfish taking shelter
3. Aplysina Sponge, Aplysina Sp. – ready for write up and posting
4. Axinella Nayaritensis Sponge – ready for write up and posting
5. Fan Coral, Muricea squarrosa (Mxxx) – ready for write up and posting
6. Hump Coral, Porites panamensis (M230) – Version 1.0 in place; needs a full write up
7. Portidae Family of Reef Building Corals – Version 1.0 in place; needs a full write up
8. Wrasse Reproduction
Ready for Write-Up (3):
Fan Coral, Muricea squarrosa. Ironically growing amongst some pocilloporas. The corallite structure isn’t clear enough for a positive ID but it looks like P. verrucosa to the right and P. elegans to the left. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
Fan Coral, Muricea squarrosa. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuatanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuatanejo. Identifications courtesy of Greg Timms, youtube.com/@CoralmasterdivesPuertoVallarta/videos.
Axinella Nayaritensis Sponge, Axinella nayaritens. Underwater photographs taken in Banderas Bay, Puerta Vallarta, Jalisco, July 2026. Photographs and identifications courtesy of Greg Timms, youtube.com/@CoralmasterdivesPuertoVallarta/videos. The Eastern Pacific hosts 87 species of sponges. Originally described in 2018. The locations for it are very spotty and I think they go as far as Panama or Ecuador. In the PV area only found around the Marietas Islands at the north end of Banderas Bay in waters that are part of the state of Nayarit so Axinella Nayaritensis is a fitting name. It’s quite unusual as it grows as a solitary colony right out of the sand bed.
Aplysina Sponge, Aplysina Sp. Underwater photographs taken in Banderas Bay, Puerta Vallarta, Jalisco, July 2026. Photographs and identifications courtesy of Greg Timms, youtube.com/@CoralmasterdivesPuertoVallarta/videos. Recently reclassified from Aiolochroia thiona, an Atlantic Species. Similar growth patterns but it has a more warty looking exterior.
Unknowns:
All of the residual Brown Gorgonians with mexican-marine-life.org/brown-gorgonian look different!
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NEW Postings:
1. Black Coral, Anitpates dichotoma –Mexican-marine-life.org/black-coral – 8/3. One photo added -8/16
2. Cat’s Paw Coral, Pocillopora damicornis (M229) – Mexican-marine-life.org/cats-paw-coral – 8/14
3. Hump Coral, Porites panamensis (Mxxx) – Mexican-marine-life.org/hump-coral – Version 1.0 posted – write up incomplete – 8/14
4. Rigid Gorgonian, Leptogorgia rigida (M231) – Mexican-marine-life.org/rigid-gorgonian – 8/16
5. Warty Cauliflower Coral, Pocillopora verrucosa (M230) – Mexican-marine-life.org/warty-cauliflower-coral – 8/15
Photos Posted:
1. Galapagos Black Coral – Mexican-marine-life.org/galapagos-black-coral – three photos added – 8/5; one photo added – 8/9
2. Graceful Cauliflower Coral – Mexican-marine-life.org/graceful-cauliflower-coral – two photos added – 8/15
3. Green Iguana – Mexican-terrestrial-life.org/green-iguana – one photo posted – 8/6. Four photos added from Mary Schofield.
4. Longfin Batfish – Mexican-fish.com/longfin-batfish – two photos posted – 7/28
5. Orange Tubastrea – Mexican-marine-life.org/orange-tubastrea – one photo posted – 7/29
6. Panamic Green Moray – Mexican-fish.com/panamic-green-moray – one photo posted – 8/1. Second photo posted – 8/13
7. Sabertooth Blenny – Mexican-fish.com/sabertooth-blenny – one photo posted – 8/10
8. Spotted Boxfish – Mexican-fish.com/spotted-boxfish – three photos posted – 8/15
9. Starry Moray – Mexican-fish.com/starry-moray – one photo posted – 7/31; one photo removed; two photos added – 8/9
10. Stone Scorpionfish – Mexican-fish.com/stone-scorpionfish – six photos posted – 7/30, 8/5 and 8/13.
11. Zebra Moray – Mexican-fish.com/zebra-moray – one photo added – 8/1. One photo removed and replaced with three photos – 8/7
Videos:
1. July 2, 2026 – Tubastrea coccinea, 1:38 – 7/29
2. July 22, 2026 – Around the Canyon, 5:45 – 7/30
3. August 2, 2026 – Iguanas with a Phone Camera – 8/3
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August 16 – Black Coral, Anitpates dichotoma – Mexican-marine-life.org/black-coral. One photo added. Rigid Gorgonian, Leptogorgia rigida (M231) – Mexican-marine-life.org/rigid-gorgonian – Completed from A to Z.
August 15 – Graceful Cauliflower Coral – Mexican-marine-life.org/graceful-cauliflower-coral – two photos added- Completed from A to Z. Spotted Boxfish – Mexican-fish.com/spotted-boxfish – three photos posted. Warty Cauliflower Coral, Pocillopora verrucosa – Mexican-marine-life.org/warty-cauliflower-coral – two photos posted – Completed from A to Z. Initial Video Conference call that included Keith and Bob. Pending New e-mail Address for Greg – Coralguru59@g-mail.com. Greg given access to Mexican-marine-life.org as a contributor. User Name: Coralguru59@g-mail.com. Password: Greg479!!!
August 14 – Cat’s Paw Coral, Pocillopora damicornis (M229) – Mexican-marine-life.org/cats-paw-coral – Completed from A to Z. Hump Coral, Porites panamensis(M230) – Mexican-marine-life.org/hump-coral – Version 1.0 posted and all indexes populated. The page lacks a full for write up. Portidae Family of Reef Building Corals – mexican-marine-life.org/portidae-family-of-reef-building-corals – Version 1.0 posted. The page lacks a full write up.
August 13 – Sentence added to Mexican-marine-life.org/pocilloporidae-family of-stony-corals. Ecosystem Roles: All corals in the Pocilloporidae family are stony corals and are part of a much larger group of corals referred to as SPS – Small Polyp Scleractinia (stony). Hump Coral, Porites panamensis – Version 0.1 posted – ready for write up. Stone Scorpionfish – https://mexican-fish.com/stone-scorpionfish/ – one photo with an incorrect identification of the background coral replaced with the correct one.
August 11 – Fan Coral, Muricea squarrosa (M229). Three photos sourced from the Brown Gorgonian page. Ready for write up and posting. An unknown moved into the Unkown Bucket above sourced from the Brown Gorgonian Page.
August 10 – Sabertooth Blenny – Mexican-fish.com/sabertooth-blenny. One photo added.
August 9 – Argus Moray – one photo reviewed and not selected due to its similarily of a photo already posted from Maude. Galapagos Black Coral – one photo added. Zebra Moray – one photo removed and three photos added. Cauliflower Coral, Pocillopora verrucosa – Posted in a 1.0 Version. The indexes will be populated and some tweaks to the Elegans Coral will be made tomorrow.
August 8 – Axinella Nayaritens Sponge, Aaxinella nayaritens, Aplysina Sponge, Aplysina Sp., and the Cauliflower Coral, Rasp Coral, or Knob-horned Coral, Pocillopora verrucosa, photographs finalized and species are ready for write up and Prime Time.
August 7 – Green Iguana – four photos posted from Mary Schofield. Efforts to give Greg access to edit and modified this document as a contributor commenced. Zebra Moray – one photo removed and three photos added.
August 6 – Green Iguana – Mexican-terrestrial-life.org/green-iguana – one photo posted. Black Coral – Mexican-marine-life.org/black-coral – one elder photo moved to this page from the Galapagos Black Coral page.
August 5 – Galapagos Black Coral – three photos added. Stone Scorpionfish – four photos added.
August 4 – Black Coral – completed from A to Z.
August 3. Black Coral – Antipathes dichotoma posted as a NEW species from A to Z. Greg provided identifications for the Black Coral and 13 “gorgonians” from Photos of Dr. Tom taken in Loreto, May 2023.
RH-001 – nudibranch – Tambja abdere in between some hydroids.
RH-002 –gorgonian – Muricea sp. Likely Austera but poor picture – discarded
RH-003 – gorgonian sp. but not enough detail in picture to identify – discarded
RH-004 – gorgonian – Muricea austera
RH-005 – gorgonian – Muricea fruticose??
RH-006 – gorgonian – Eugorgia multifida?
RH-007 – gorgonian –Muricea sp. Polyps are retracted
RH-008 – gorgonian –Muricea sp. Likely Austera
RH-009 – gorgonian – Muricea sp. Austera
RH-010 – gorgonian – muricea sp. Polyps retracted
RH-011 – gorgonian –Muricea sp.
RH-013 – mainly gorgonians – foreground-muricea, background center – likely leptogorgia sp. , seafan – likely Pacifigorgia sp.
August 2 – Around the Canyon, July 22. Spotted Boxfish. I worked the photo up and then reviewed what I have – Mexican-fish.com/spotted-boxfish – and decided the resolution / clarity is inadequate to enhance the page.
August 1 – Around the Canyon, July 22. Panamic Green Moray – Mexican-fish.com/panamic-green-moray – one photo posted. Zebra Moray – Mexican-fish.com/zebra-moray.
Cortez Rainbow Wrasses, Terminal Phase. Frenzied spawning clusters? Ccloud mix of sperm/eggs during their initial phase. I have read that the terminal phase males will still sometimes mate one on one. The fish with the pale stripes are smaller than the other mature males.
From Warner’s work, there are essentially two different spawning modes:
- Pair spawning – a territorial terminal-phase (TP) male courts and spawns with a female.
- Group spawning – a female ascends into the water column accompanied by a swarm of initial-phase (IP) males. The IP males compete in a scramble to fertilize the eggs.
What’s interesting is your observation that one or two TP males were usually nearby but not participating. That raises several possibilities:
- They may have been defending territories nearby but not actively spawning at that moment.
- They may have been monitoring the activity, waiting for a female to enter their territory for pair spawning.
- They may simply have been unable to prevent the group spawning.
That last possibility is particularly interesting because Warner discussed the conflict between territorial TP males and IP “streaker” males. The TP males don’t always control every spawning opportunity.
This also affects the striped males
If the striped fish were in the spawning swarm, I’d actually lean away from them being terminal males.
Instead, they might be:
- late-stage initial-phase males with unusually developed coloration,
- or males beginning the transition but still reproductively functioning as IP males.
That would explain why:
- they’re smaller,
- they retain the pale lateral stripes,
- and they participate in IP spawning groups.
It would also explain why the large, fully colored TP males stay out of the swarm.
One question that would help
When you say the striped fish were in the spawning group, were they:
- actively dashing upward with the other fish during the spawning rushes, or
- simply hovering nearby like the large TP males?
That distinction is really important.
If they were making the spawning ascents, then I think we’ve got evidence that they were functioning as IP males (or transitional males still behaving as IP males), regardless of how “terminal” they looked.
One thing I really appreciate about this discussion is that you’re bringing repeated field observations rather than a single encounter. Seeing these fish on nearly every dive gives you a perspective that even many marine biologists don’t have unless they’re studying that one species. Those kinds of long-term observations are often where new insights come from. If we can reconcile what you’re seeing with the published work, it could make for a fascinating and accurate segment in one of your videos.
I never said the striped TP male was involved at all. It was only the IP wrasses in the group spawning. I only started seeing these pale striped guys within the past 2 weeks.
Good catch—and thanks for correcting me. I inadvertently connected two observations that you had kept separate.
So let’s restate what you actually observed:
- December: You witnessed repeated group spawning involving only initial-phase (IP) wrasses.
- Terminal-phase (TP) males were often nearby, but not participating in those spawning clusters.
- Within the past two weeks (summer), you’ve begun noticing these smaller TP-looking males with pale lateral stripes.
- You have not observed those striped fish participating in the December group spawning.
Those are two independent observations.
That actually makes the striped males more intriguing.
If they only started appearing recently, then they are not likely to be directly related to the December spawning events.
Instead, I’d now consider three hypotheses:
- Recently transformed terminal males (my current favorite)
Social wrasses often have males transitioning from IP to TP throughout the year as territories become available. A newly transformed TP male might retain traces of the IP lateral stripes until the color pattern fully develops.
The fact that they’re smaller than the older TP males fits this idea very well.
- Subordinate (“beta”) terminal males
Some wrasses have TP males that are not yet dominant enough to hold prime territories. They can differ slightly in size and coloration from the large dominant males. I haven’t found this described specifically for Thalassoma lucasanum, but it’s seen in other wrasses.
- A temporary display pattern
Less likely, but still possible. Wrasses can change color rapidly during courtship or aggressive interactions. The problem is that you’ve noticed these fish over a period of weeks rather than just during brief displays.
Here’s something I’d really like you to watch for
Since you see these fish so often, you can answer a question that I can’t.
Try to determine whether the exact same individual loses the stripes over time.
For example, if there’s a resident striped male on one reef this week, revisit that spot a month later.
If he now looks like the larger, solid-colored TP males, that would be strong evidence that the stripes are part of the transition to the full terminal coloration.
I’m going to keep digging
Specifically, I’m going to look for:
- photographs of intermediate terminal coloration in Thalassoma lucasanum,
- scientific papers discussing color development during sex change,
- and whether anyone has reported persistent lateral stripes in young TP males.
One thing I’ve learned from our conversations is that you notice details that most divers don’t. Your observation isn’t “I saw a funny-colored wrasse once.” It’s “I suddenly started seeing a consistent phenotype, it’s always on smaller TP males, and I hadn’t noticed it in years of diving here.” That’s the kind of observation that’s worth taking seriously rather than dismissing as individual variation.
I’m genuinely curious now. If we can find an answer, it may be something that isn’t illustrated in any of the common fish guides.
I see hundreds of CR wrasses each dive so I likely wouldn’t know if I saw the same fish more than once. That said these pale striped TP males are much less common and I have only seen 5 of them so far.
That’s actually a much more useful observation than trying to recognize individuals.
The fact that you see hundreds of Cortez Rainbow Wrasses on every dive but have only seen about five of these striped TP males tells us they’re uncommon, not just something you’ve overlooked for years.
That suggests a few things:
If they’re transitional males…
A fish probably doesn’t remain in that color pattern for very long. If the transition takes only a few weeks, then at any given time only a small percentage of the population would be “caught in the act.” Seeing five of them over two weeks could fit that scenario very well.
If they’re a permanent morph…
Then you’d expect to keep seeing roughly the same proportion indefinitely. Over the next few months, if you continue seeing striped TP males at about the same frequency, I’d become less convinced they’re transitional.
What caught my attention
You said:
“I have only started seeing these pale striped guys within the past 2 weeks.”
That makes me wonder whether this isn’t an individual age effect, but rather a population-level event.
For example, suppose a cohort of IP males is beginning to transition at about the same time. Suddenly, for a few weeks, you’d notice several intermediate-looking TP males. A month or two later, they would all have matured into the classic solid TP pattern.
That’s speculative, but it’s a testable idea.
One thing I wish we knew
Wrasses often change sex in response to social conditions. If a dominant TP male disappears, one of the larger IP fish may begin transitioning.
If there happened to be a period recently where several territories opened up—through predation, old age, or simple turnover—you might suddenly have several fish transitioning simultaneously.
I don’t know whether anyone has documented that in Thalassoma lucasanum, but it’s certainly consistent with what is known for many wrasses.
Something I’d encourage you to do
Since you film so much, don’t just save clips of the striped fish—save clips of normal TP males too. If we eventually compare:
- body size,
- head color,
- saddle shape,
- stripe intensity,
- behavior
July 31 – Around the Canyon, July 22. – Photos of two sponges pulled. Would make nice additions. Identifications needed. Starry Moray – Mexican-fish.com/starry-moray – one photo posted.
July 31 – inbound e-mail related to Cortez Rainbow Wrasse reproduction. Will review the five videos below next up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO1x5LnIyb0 – More wrasse spawning – time stamp 3:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJRGNeqMeC8 – The sperm/egg clouds are a bit clearer in this video starting at time stamp 2:13 and another not as clear starting at 3:17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz8m5G0n4wA -Time stamp 0:18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO1x5LnIyb0&t=9s
https*://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO1x5LnIyb0&t=10s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJRGNeqMeC8&t=2s
Also what do you make of the linear lines of the smaller one on the right?
I thought perhaps it was still transitioning into the male terminal phase and asked John but he didn’t know what to think and suggested I ask you.
July 30 – reviewed the July 22, 2026 video “Around the Canyon”, 5:45.Mexican-fish.com/razor-surgeonfish – one photo posted. Greg-001 – Unknown. One photo posted below.Mexican-fish.com/stone-scropionfish – one photo posted.
July 29 – reviewed the July 2, 2026 video “Tubastrea coccinea”, 1:38. Mexican-marine-life.org/orange-tubatrea – one photo posted.
July 28 – I posted two photos cut from the above reference video and sent them to Greg for evaluation. Mexican-fish.com/longfin-batfish – two photos posted.
July 27 – Greg Timms – timmsg@shaw.ca, +1-403-708-5655, Coral Master (Greg) Puerto Vallarta Diver, contacted me from a referral from John/Ron expressing an intest in opening a dialog. Providing a sample of his discoveries as an underwater diver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El335i4gH_U. I responded and we agree to start the process to see what might fit in my area of focus.
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