Shallow dives are rarely a let-down. Whether diving in the cold lakes of the Rocky Mountains with Bluegill and, Trout and Bass, or the warm regions surrounding the Equator, I always find something interesting in the shallows. After a deeper dive, the long swim back to shore has brought sightings of Goby, Razorfish, and Porcupinefish in sea grass. I’ve even startled a very large Barracuda, who was as surprised to see me as I was to see him.
I love shallow dives.
Diving along the sandy areas of the ocean usually induces boredom in many divers, but contrary to popular belief, I find some of the most interesting critters hanging out in the “desert” in between coral heads. On this day, I found a Queen Conch among the interesting critters of the day. I had never seen a Queen Conch in the shell before this day and was delighted to see it moving around in the daylight. The shell was not old and crusty like many we see at other depths, usually housing a crab. This remarkably sized shell was suited perfectly to the animal who created it.
She moved along the bottom of the sea using her foot, and did not shy away from the divers. Being able to circle all the way around her as she moved, was an opportunity that many sea creatures do not allow us. This Conch moved surprisingly gracefully across the sand, while her onlookers observed.
What is a Queen Conch, Exactly?
The Queen Conch is actually a mollusk, or “snail” to us lay-folk. Living in seagrass beds, the Queen Conch eats the grass and other “vegetarian” sea plants. Though it is difficult to see in the video below, the Conch actually has two eyes as well as tentacles and a foot, which powers it across the sand. With respect to the diver in the video, you’ll see this particular Queen Conch is approximately one foot in size, which is large considering the largest found is barely under fourteen inches.
What a lucky find!
Enjoy the video of the scuba diver diving with a Queen Conch as it moves along the sandy bottom of the Caribbean sea.
