BAHAMAS BENEATH

A dive into the waters of this famous island nation with the creatures that call it home

Rays of light

A group of 14 spotted eagle rays, some as large as 3m in wingspan, glides through the waters off Egg Island. Knowing how shy these creatures are, photographer Shane hid behind a rock and held his breath as they 'flew' overhead, so as not to spook them with air bubbles.

Squid squad 

Resembling tiny torpedoes, a small shoal of Caribbean reef squid hovers just beneath the surface. "They were communicating with each other using colours, patterns and body positioning," recalls Shane. "I did wonder whether they were trying to communicate with me, too."

Seeing green 

A close-up of the peculiar mouth of the solitary artichoke coral. Like other corals, the artichoke uses stinging tentacles to immobilise and capture passing prey, which is then passed to its mouth for digestion.

Fan base 

A coral reef burgeoning with gently undulating sea fans - soft corals known as gorgonians. Named for their fan-like appearance, these corals play a crucial role in the marine ecosystem, providing habitat and shelter for a diversity of small sea creatures.

Behold the blenny 

The face of a sailfin blenny takes on alien proportions when lit from above. These fish are just 10cm in length but sport incredibly large dorsal fins, which they flash in displays of courtship and defence, a behaviour known as 'flagging'.

Secret sharks 

At high tide, young lemon sharks hide from predators among tangles of mangrove roots. At low tide, when it's too shallow for larger predators, they head to the sandflats to hunt.

Shell seeker