A Humbug damselfish or Whitetail dascyllus swimming around Acropora coral heads in the Maldives
Image details
Contributor:
Niall Ferguson / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
EHC9E1File size:
28 MB (1.3 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3500 x 2801 px | 29.6 x 23.7 cm | 11.7 x 9.3 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
15 February 2015Location:
Cocoa Island Makunufushi South Malé Atoll Republic of MaldivesMore information:
Dascyllus aruanus, known commonly as the Whitetail dascyllus or Humbug damselfish among other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Pomacentridae. Associated with coral reefs, most usually in groups above Acropora coral heads. Males may be aggressive against other fish while they tend eggs. Acropora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. Acropora species are one of the major reef corals responsible for building the immense calcium carbonate substructure that supports the thin living skin of a reef. The Republic of Maldives, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean–Arabian Sea area, consisting of a double chain of twenty-six atolls, oriented north-south, that lie between Minicoy Island (the southernmost part of Lakshadweep, India) and the Chagos Archipelago. The chains stand in the Laccadive Sea, and the capital, Malé, is about 600 kilometres (370 mi) south-west of India and 750 kilometres (470 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka. The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. With an average ground level elevation of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, it is the planet's lowest country. It is also the country with the lowest natural highest point in the world, at 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in). Future inundation of the Maldives due to rising sea levels is of great concern to its people, motivating the government to have pledged to be carbon neutral by 2019