Belize's Manatee!!!

The Manatee

The manatee is a huge marine mammal with a gray brown seal looking body. They have two  forelimbs that act both as arms and front flippers they also have a powerful paddle shaped tail.  They have tough skin with a rough texture and some body hair,  their face is wrinkled and has stiff whiskers.  They produce sounds audible to humans.  When active, they surface regularly to breath,  they can stay under water 10-15 minutes without breathing when they are at rest.  One breath exchanges 98% of the air in their lungs, which is also the key to their buoyancy control.  Their large and powerful upper lips are very distinctive and useful for feeding. Manatees  grow up to 13 feet in length and can weigh over 3,500 pounds.  They are gentle animals, slow moving, and spending most of their time eating, resting and traveling.  They can travel 40-50 miles per day, and are commonly known as sea cows.

Manatees are found in fresh brackish water, coastal lagoons, bays and estuaries, mainly where sea grass beds are present.

Manatees feed on a variety of marine vegetation.  They graze along the water bottoms for sea grass using their upper lips to dig through sediment and guide food into their mouth.  Manatees usually eat 10%-15% of their body weight daily.

The reproduction rate of the manatees are slow.  They reproduce once every 2-5 years and  only have one calf with twins being very rare.  The male reaches maturity at 6-9 years of age while the female reaches maturity at 5-9 years of age.  The gestation period of manatees is 11¬13 months and the calf stays with its mother for 1-2 years. Calves weigh approximately 40 pounds at birth.  Learn more about Belize, watch videos about Belize, Book a vacation package or Daily tour in Belize online, Become a member of future Perfect's Leisure Travel Club!!

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The Belize Barrier Reef's Porcupine Fish!!!

Porcupine Fish

Porcupine fish, is also known as "spotted spiny puffer," there are approximately 15 species.  They have a round, elongated body, large at the head, gradually becoming thin at the tail.  Their top body coloration is olive to brown black with a white belly.  There are small, dark spots all over their body and fins.  they grow 3-19 inches depending on the species.  The name comes from the spines that cover the skin.  In the smaller species, the spines are erected permanently, while the spines in the larger species only erect when the fish is threatened and has inflated its body. They inflate their body by taking water into their stomach until they are fully inflated.

Porcupine fish generally stay in caves and recesses, peering out of the openings during the day and searching their area for food in the night.  Sometimes they can be seen in grassy areas.

They generally feed at night,  on mollusks, clams, oysters and other invertebrates.  They move around the sea and reef floor, spurting jets of water to uncover prey. Porcupine fish have large appetites, and have only one set of teeth, which is unusual among fish.
Science has uncovered very little knowledge about the Breeding habits of this fish.  More about Belize, View videos about Belize, Book a vacation Package or Tour in Belize.

 

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The Belize Barrier Reef's Conch!!!

The Conch

The  conch is a mollusk, which has hard structured shell with crown looking spires and spikes on a spiral coiled shell.  The outer shell is orange and yellow with a fascinating rosy pink flaring lip. The shell is produced by a thin layer of tissue between the snail's body and the shell. Calcium carbonate is extracted from the sea by the snail as the source of calcium for creating the shell.  The queen conch generally grows 6-9 inches with some growing up to 12 inches.  They have two pairs of tentacles on the head that provide touch, smell and light sensitivity.  The  conch buries itself in the sand for short dormancy periods.  These snails move around on the sea floor using a muscular foot that is covered in cilia and mucous.  The adults are most active at night. Conch is listed as an endangered species by most organizations in Belize because they are over harvested for food and their beautiful  shells.
Conch can be found on around the barrier reef, patch reef, reef crest, and back reef.  The first year of its life, the conch lives in a shallow habitat buried in sediment. As they age they move to deeper waters.
Conch  feeds primarily on algae, grasses and organic debris; However, in the larvae stage, they feed on plankton.  Eating is done through a tongue resembling organ that contains thousands of tiny teeth like particles. Conchs have a very complicated digestive system, expelling wastes from the gut located near the gills.
Sexual maturity in  conchs is reached at about 3-4 years of age.  Their eggs are laid in gelatinous strings 50-75 feet in length that contain as many as 185,000 to 460,000 eggs.  The peak period of reproduction in  conchs is from April to August.  More about Belize, Watch videos about Belize, Book a vacation Package or day tour in Belize.



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Belize Barrier Reef's Cow Fish!!!!

The Cow Fish

Also known by the names trunk fish and box fish, These strange shaped fishes are made of exterior fused plates instead of  having a skeleton.  Belize's variety has a triangular shaped appearance.  Cow fish have "horns," a spine over each eye that further differentiate them from trunk fish: Color and body patterns are very unique and varied among species. They have no pelvic fins when swimming they look as if they are hovering.  Cow fish and trunk fish have fewer teeth than most other fishes and they have large jawbones relative to their size,  they are generally 7-18 inches in length. They are  unique in that they have gill slits without  covers, they  blow water jets into the sand when searching for prey,  they  secrete a toxic substance when threatened and they can move each eye in different directions at the same time.
Cow fish live on reefs, in sea grass beds and sandy areas.  They  change colors to blend in with their surroundings, and may swim in open water or reside near ledges and holes.
These odd shaped fish normally eats invertebrates such as sea anemones or sponges and also feast on hermit crabs, algae, worms and small bivalves. They can uncover burrowing prey with their spraying jets of water. Know more about Belize, Watch Videos about Belize, book a vacation Package or tour in Belize online.

Mother Nature's Best Kept Secrets!!

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Belize Barrier Reef's Upside Down Jellyfish!!

The Upside Down Jellyfish

As suggested by it's name, the Upside Down Jellyfish is inverted compared to the normal/regular  jellyfish. It has been known to have a yellowish-brown with white spots in color.  The  disc shaped portion is at the bottom with  cluster oriented in an upright position .  The entire animal has a translucent appearance. They grow to a size of approximately 4-5 inches.

This jellyfish lives in shallow sea areas such as flats, lagoons and back reef areas.  They are found on the bottom, sitting in the sand with the cluster portion facing upward.  The disc shaped portion acts as a suction at the bottom holding it in place. At first they are free swimming, until they get to about 1 inch in size, they settle on the bottom of the sea.

The upside down jellyfish does not have one centered mouth, instead they have  openings along mouth arms that create little canals. Jellyfish are carnivorous, dining mostly on a variety of  zoo plankton. They gather their small prey using their arms as it floats along, by stinging them with a toxic substance. Part of their food also comes from algae that grow in their arm clusters nourished through sunlight . This algae not only provides food, it also provides oxygen to the jellyfish.
Jellyfish can be male or female, they reproduce sexually.  Reproductive organs are in the lining of the gut. The Male releases sperm through it's mouth, the sperm then swims into the mouth of the female to fertilize her eggs.  The eggs develop inside the female's  brood pouches located on it's arm. Larvae emerge that form polyps, which divide and become young jellyfish.  More about Belize,  Videos about Belize,  Book a tour in Belize.

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Belize Barrier Reef's Frog Fish!!

The Frog Fish

Another Amazing  fish in appearance is the  frog fish, it has a body resembling a frog and exists in many colors: red, pink, orange, yellow, green and tan,  frequently they have dark spots all over their body.  A  Frog fish  changes colors and shades to blend in with their background.  Their  bodies are stocky with  a prickly covering that seems to be loose.  The pectoral fins are almost limb-like with a joint much like an elbow. They can also look like Sargassum weed and sponges. When not in Motion, they are difficult to see because they blend in with the background.  A  Frog fish does not often swim,  they propel themselves by taking water in through their mouth and and shooting it through small gill openings. They are usually 21/2-inches long with a maximum length of 8 inches.
The Frog fish most often inhabit  reefs, sitting on corals and sponges. Some species will inhabit sandy Areas.
They eat small fishes and crustaceans.  However, they do not just wait for their prey, they search for prey. Their  dorsal spine is able to move and acts like a fishing rod with a lure at the end.  The length of the spine varies by specie and may be striped or not. The lure is frequently shaped like a worm, shrimp or small fish and is moved in a particular pattern. Some frog fish excrete a chemical substance that attracts prey. The movement of the lure attracts prey to the frog fish, who then capture and eat it. Frog fish suck in their prey whole in a single fast motion, estimated by some to be as fast as 6 thousandths of a second. Their oral cavity increases up to 12 times its size when feeding; this facilitates the sucking pressure to take in the prey and allows the frog fish to eat animals larger than its own size. Amazing!!
When spawning, the female frog fish fills up inside with eggs. When she is full, the female becomes buoyant with her tail up. The male then follows the female who nudges her in the abdomen. Once they reach the sea surface, spawning occurs. Thousands of eggs are released into a group that drifts for a few days prior to sinking to the bottom where they hatch. Young ones do look much like adults, but much smaller. Learn more about Belize, view videos about Belize, Day Tours in Belize, Vacation Packages to Belize.

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The Sea Horse! (Belize Barrier Reef)

Another unique animal,the Sea Horses has the head of a horse with a tube-shaped snout, pouch of a kangaroo and tail of a monkey; they resemble the capital letter "S." They are a vertebrate fish growing that grow 6-12 inches in size. There are many species in many colors. They curl their tail around vegetation, rock and coral to hold themselves in place; they also float free over grass and on the reef. Their eyes do not look forward; one eye sees right and the other sees left. Sea horses have an upper and lower jaw, but do not have teeth. They are covered with a bony plate of "armor" that protects this little animal, but it also limits their movement. Seahorses are poor swimmers and they spend most of their time stationary, held by their tail. When they do swim, they propel themselves by a transparent back fin that can beat 20-30 times per second. Their up and down motion is controlled through the volume of gases in their bodies. Research estimate that sea horses live approximately 4 years if they make a full lifespan. The natural predators that adult seahorses face are tuna, crabs, and rays. When storms hit the sea many seahorses die because they lose hold of whatever they have wrapped their tail around.

These animals live in coastal waters in sea grass beds, on coral reefs, and in mangroves. They camouflage themselves to blend into their environment by changing colors.
The seahorse uses its snout to suck up microscopic animals in the water for feeding. The diet of a seahorses includes invertebrates such as worms, crustaceans, small shrimp and plankton. Sea horses generally remain stationary and suck up their microscopic prey when the prey moves past.

Seahorses  mate with one partner for life. Some researchers believe that long-term pairing enables seahorses to become efficient and effective baby-making teams. On the other hand, each pair only produces up to 1,000 young per year, very low by fish reproductive standards. The reproductive process is unique. Seahorses mate during the full moon after several days of an elaborate mating ritual that includes body color changes and swimming in patterns. The female makes 200-600 eggs and deposits them in the male's brood pouch where fertilization and transfer of nutrients take place. After 3-6 weeks the male gives birth, leaving the babies to fend for themselves, of which a very few survive.Learn more about Belize!

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