11

10:18

Aplysia depilans - Sea hare

We publish another encounter with the Sea hare, Aplysia depilans, this time which took place on a depth of about 42/45 meters. We are on a not very high rock wall about 4/5 miles from the coast where, due to the now increasingly present mucillage, animals and marine organisms seem to have disappeared. ...

Andrea Cirivasi

March 23, 2023

14

0

15

08:56

Mediterranean coral reef

The Savalia savaglia, commonly known as gold coral, is a species colonial in the family Parazoanthidae. This organism is commonly called "false black coral". It owes its name to its ability to produce a dark-colored horny skeleton, usually blackish. The colonies are generally settled on pre-existing gorgonians skeletons and can grow with ramifications that far exceed one meter in length. The polyps of this coral have six tentacles which is why the species is part of Hexacorallia group. They are bright yellow or whitish, and very large and showy (2-3 cm high), similar to those of Parazoanthus axinellae. Sprout very well from the tissue that lines the skeleton (coenenchyme) and have available alternates, showing smooth tentacles. The polyps do not fall as those of other species but can retract and close in on themselves.

Fanino Cirivasi

March 19, 2023

15

0

7

02:22

Demosponge

Demosponges are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). Sponges, contrary to what one might think at first sight, are very simple multicellular animal organisms very similar in shape and appearance to plant organisms. There are no apparatus in the sponges and there is no trace of a nervous system.

Stefano

March 14, 2023

9

0

11

06:37

Cave with Yellow cluster Anemone

I met these beautiful colonies of Parazoanthus axinellae during a snorkeling activity in the coastal caves of the island of Pantelleria. In my experience as a diver I have never encountered these sea daisies at almost surface level; evidently in this case the colony of Parazoanthus axinellae has found particularly favorable environmental conditions of light and sea currents

Stefano

March 7, 2023

15

0

11

03:47

Unknown marine organism

During a scuba dive in a beautiful Mediterranean coral reef of Savalia savaglia and Paramuricea clavata, at a depth between 72 and 76 meters, I met this unknown marine organism for the first time. Curiosity prompted me to carry out a series of searches to understand precisely what I was dealing with. Research has not yielded a satisfactory answer. The questions I asked myself were many. Based on my experience of many years of scuba diving it could be an animal belonging to the phylum Prorifera.

Fanino Cirivasi

March 1, 2023

14

0

8

02:09

Yellow-edged Lyretail

The Yellow-edged Lyretail (Variola louti) is a species of grouper belongs Actinopterygii class, Perciformes order and Serranidae family; also known as the lyretail grouper or the caramel cod. The yellow-edged lyretail is found from the Red Sea to South Africa and the Pitcairn Islands, as far as southern Japan and Australia.

Stefano

February 22, 2023

10

0

13

02:44

Nimble spray crab - Percnon gibbesi

Percnon gibbesi is a species of crab. It is one of at least two species commonly called "Sally Lightfoot" (the other being the semi-terrestrial Grapsus grapsus from the Pacific coast of the Americas), and is also referred to as the nimble spray crab or urchin crab. It has been described as "the most invasive decapod species to enter the Mediterranean". It populates the rocky ravines of the infralittoral plain at a depth ranging from a few centimeters to a maximum of 30 meters. This video was shot in the reefs of the island of Pantelleria in the Sicily Channel.

Stefano

February 16, 2023

15

0

15

04:48

False coral Myriapora truncata

Myriapora truncata, also known by its common name false coral is a species from the genus Myriapora. The species was originally described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1766. Myriapora truncata is a common species on rocky environments from the water surface to a depth of 60 meter, where it forms calcareous colonies. It has a bright red colour which earned it its common name of "False coral". Studies suggest that M. truncata seem well able to withstand the levels of ocean acidification predicted in the next 200 years. Myriapora truncata is the source of 4 polyketide-derived metabolites.

Fanino Cirivasi

February 9, 2023

15

0

13

54:23

Alifu Dhaalu Atoll to Maldives

This video was made in December 2022 during a short vacation I spent on Angaaga island; I must say that the weather was not what I wanted and therefore, not being able to do scuba diving with aqualung, I dedicated myself to snorkelling in the coral reef that surrounded the island. The small island of Angaga is located in the center of Alifu Dhaalu Atoll, in the southern part of Ari Atoll. This small island has been used exclusively as a tourist resort for those who intend to spend a holiday in the Maldives.

Stefano

February 4, 2023

26

0

11

13:14

Charonia tritonis - Giant triton

We are on some isolated rocks at a depth of 40/46 meters, where we have found two beautiful specimens of Charonia tritonis, Giant mediterranean triton.  This is the mollusk and consequently the largest shell in the Mediterranean Sea. In this dive we met two of them, we filmed the first one casually on the wall we were exploring, we realized watching the footage that we passed by without seeing it. The second was inside a hole from which we moved it to try to film it better. ...

netartstudio

January 29, 2023

35

0

11

04:22

Octopus vulgaris - Common octopus

We have filmed Common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, several times on intotheblue.it but each encounter with this cephalopod mollusk is always unique and different from the previous ones. In this case, in fact, the octopus was so well camouflaged on the seabed that it was not possible to see it from just a few meters below the surface. ...

netartstudio

January 20, 2023

27

0

12

02:05

Ornate wrasse male with females

The ornate wrasse, Thalassoma pavo, is a species of wrasse native to the rocky coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries, is also popular as a game fish, and can be found in the aquarium trade.

Stefano

January 12, 2023

32

0

15

16:52

Diving on Silvio's Wreck

Silvio wreck is now reduced to very bad conditions due to the time that has passed but, above all, due to the fishing boats that cause continuous hooks with their trawl nets and then, in an attempt to recover them, cause further damage to the structure of the tug; the wreck is in fact almost completely surrounded by fishing nets. As you can see from the video, the seabed on which it is located is a muddy seabed and a few movements by the diver are enough to lift the mud and make visibility poor; therefore considerable experience is required to avoid accidents and dive in complete safety.

Fanino Cirivasi

January 5, 2023

46

0

12

03:50

Lipophrys nigriceps - Rabosa negra

This little minnow is one of the most common Blennid species in the Mediterranean Sea. Lipophrys nigriceps - Rabosa negra - Red blenny is in fact practically omnipresent along the cliffs and rocky and jagged coasts of our sea, the only trick to find it is to look in the shaded areas and in the holes near the of the marine environment between the levels of low and high tide ...

netartstudio

December 31, 2022

28

0

21

06:13

Mauve stinger

In this video made in summer we filmed Mauve stinger or Purle jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca luminous jellyfish. We stopped to film three specimens we met during the same swim, snorkelling in the waves, trying hard to avoid contact with these jellyfish. In fact, the Pelagia noctiluca - Luminous jellyfish - is the most dangerous jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea, contact with its tentacles can cause painful skin irritations and burns. ...

netartstudio

December 24, 2022

36

0

13

00:59

Australian spotted jellyfish

Phyllorhiza punctata, also known as the floating bell, Australian spotted jellyfish, brown jellyfish or the white-spotted jellyfish, is a species of jellyfish belongs to the Rhizostomatidae Family and the genus Phyllorhiza. The species has been found in the waters off the Mediterranean Sea since at least 1965. While it is not known how it was introduced to these regions, it has been theorized that budding polyps may have attached themselves to ships, or were carried in a ship's ballast tank which was subsequently dumped.

Stefano

December 22, 2022

40

0

10

06:46

Salema - Salpa sarpa

Salema - Salpa sarpa - is one of the most common and easiest to meet Sparidae species in Mediterranean Sea. It is a gregarious fish that lives in held of even numerous individuals. In this video we see it in various conditions and habitats that it shares together with other spawners such as Seabreams, but also together with predators such as Sea bass ...

netartstudio

December 16, 2022

50

0

14

03:17

Mediterranean Parrotfish male

The Mediterranean Parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense) is a species of parrotfish found at depths up to 50 m along rocky shores in the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic, from Portugal south to Senegal. It is generally common, but uncommon or rare (locally even absent) in the northwestern Mediterranean and in the Adriatic Sea. It prefers relatively warm temperatures and there is an ongoing northward range expansion, probably because of global warming. The primary adult habitat is rocky reefs, especially in areas with macroalgae, but they may visit adjacent seagrass patches. Juveniles also occur more widely in the latter habitat.

Stefano

December 11, 2022

35

0

11

02:52

Mediterranean Parrotfish female

This video was shot between the reefs of the island of Pantelleria in the Sicily Channel. In this stretch of sea it is easy to meet parrot fish because the climatic conditions of the sea make it their favorite habitat. The females of Sparisoma cretense are very showy due to the beautiful colors of the livery and because, unlike the males, they are less shy and therefore move us between the reefs with more ease and it is easier to meet them while snorkeling.

Stefano

December 8, 2022

29

0

15

04:18

European conger

Conger (European conger - Conger conger) is one of the first marine species of the Mediterranean Sea that colonizes wrecks and we met it right among the plates of one of the many wrecks on which we often dive. It is a nocturnal predator species that lives in caves and ravines during the day and then hunts on the seabed during the night. ...

netartstudio

December 2, 2022

47

0

15

02:01

Spiny dye-murex

Bolinus brandaris (originally called Murex brandaris by Linnaeus and also Haustellum brandaris), and commonly known as the purple dye murex or the spiny dye-murex, is a species of medium-sized predatory sea snail, an edible marine gastropod mollusk in the Muricidae family, the murex snails or the rock snails. This species is known in the fossil record from the Pilocene (age range: from 3.6 to 2.588 million years ago). Fossil shells of this species have been found in Cyprus, Spain and Italy. It was used by the Phoenicians in ancient times to extract imperial Tyrian purple dye.

Fanino Cirivasi

November 25, 2022

51

0

14

02:17

Aiptasia mutabilis - Trumpet anemone

Aiptasia mutabilis Trumpet anemone or Brown anemone is one of the species of anemone typical of the Mediterranean Sea, it is not as common as the classic anemone Anemonia sulcata, but it is easy to find if we dive into reefs where the sea conditions are not yet too man-made. ...

netartstudio

November 18, 2022

36

0

21

02:28

Warty comb jelly Sea walnut - Mnemiopsis leidyi

Also this year we met the Mnemiopsis leidyi, Warty comb jelly - Sea walnut. Fortunately, we have seen only a few of them, so at least for now there hasn't been the invasion of Mnemiopsis leidyi that we witnessed a few years ago. Warty comb jelly Sea walnut Noce di Mare Mnemiopsis leidyi ...

netartstudio

November 12, 2022

70

0

13

03:57

Boops boops

Boops boops commonly called the bogue, is a species of seabream native to the eastern Atlantic. Its common name in most languages refers to its large ("bug") eyes. A demeral and semi-pelagic, it can generally be found at a depth of 100 m, and infrequently down to 350 m. The Bogue reaches a maximum length of 30 cm. and a weight that can reach half a kilogram. Its color ranges from silvery green on the back to white on the belly. The fins have the same color as the back except the ventral ones which are white. On the side it has a dark lateral line under which we find four or five lateral lines of a beautiful golden color.

Fanino Cirivasi

November 10, 2022

43

0

14

08:11

Dotted sea slug - Peltodoris atromaculata

In this dive we met one of the many nudibranchs (sea snails) that populate our sea, Peltodoris atromaculata - Dotted sea slug very similar to the Jorunna funebris (Dotted nudibranch), also called Sea cow or Leopard snail. Peltodoris atromaculata Dotted sea slug Vacchetta di mare intotheblue.it ...

Andrea Cirivasi

November 1, 2022

44

0

22

01:05

Maldive Anemonefish

Amphiprion nigripes (Maldive Anemonefish or blackfinned anemonefish), is a marinefish belonging to the family Pomacentridae, which includes clownfishes and damselfishes. The Maldive anemonefish is a small fish which grows up to 11 cm as a female and 8 cm as a male. It is oval-bodied and laterally compressed.

Carlo Terreni

October 30, 2022

36

0

10

01:00

Raccoon Butterflyfish

The Raccoon Butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula), also known as the crescent-masked butterflyfish, lunule butterflyfish, halfmoon butterflyfish, moon butterflyfish, raccoon butterfly, raccoon, raccoon coralfish, and redstriped butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Carlo Terreni

October 2, 2022

73

0

16

12:53

Leopard-spotted goby - Thorogobius ephippiatus

In these two dives we met the Leopard Goby (Thorogobius ephippiatus) a sea fish belonging to the Gobidae family. In the first we are on a 45 meter seabed made up of coral reefs that rise from a sandy bottom, in the second we are on a patch full of gorgonians but isolated in a bottom of mud and debris at a depth of about 52/53 meters ...

Andrea Cirivasi

September 18, 2022

53

0

15

04:37

Spiny Starfish - Tank Star

The Martasteria or Spiny Starfish, Marthasterias glacialis, is an echinoderm of the Asteriidae family common in the Mediterranean Sea. Also called a Tank star, due to the characteristic plates bristling with thorns that distinguish it from other starfish, it has a regular shape with five arms. The body is characterized by spines of variable color: white, gray, brown, red, blue. It appears to be the largest species in the Mediterranean, capable of reaching even 85 centimeters in diameter.

Fanino Cirivasi

September 11, 2022

41

0

13

07:07

Flying into the blue - Sea hare

Sea hare, Aplysia depilans, is a gastropod mollusk typical of the Mediterranean Sea; she is a sea snail but in this video we see her swimming in the blue almost like flying and we think she is anything but a snail. Sea hare Aplysia depilans Lepre di mare Ballerina spagnola. ...

Andrea Cirivasi

September 4, 2022

47

0

20

01:05

The struggle for life

This video made in the Maldives shows us an octopus as it comes out of its den to go hunting for food. While out he is attacked by a redtoothed triggerfish and thent has to give up his lunch and immediately take shelter in an emergency shelter to try to save himself. The video is interesting because it highlights the struggle for life that occurs every day in nature and where the predator must necessarily be careful to prevent becoming the prey of another animal.

Carlo Terreni

August 20, 2022

48

0

25

02:39

Mediterranean jellyfish or fried egg jellyfish - Cotylorhiza tuberculata

Like all summers we witness the "terrible proliferation of jellyfish" that scares us so much. Mediterranea Cassiopeia (Cotylorhiza tuberculata) (Mediterranean jellyfish, Mediterranean jelly or fried egg jellyfish) that we see in this video is a scifomedusa of the Cepheidae family, and is totally harmless. ...

Andrea Cirivasi

August 9, 2022

95

0

22

08:49

Collect plastic and let jellyfish live!

Rhizostoma pulmo (Barrel Jellyfish) is the largest jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea, and is also one of the most common and easiest to encounter. Every summer we manage to film some specimens, in this case we found ourselves in front of a real herd of a hundred jellyfish, a rather rare event in recent years. ...

netartstudio

July 7, 2022

129

0

22

08:43

Flathead grey mullets among the boats

Flathead grey mullets it is a fish able to withstand wide variations in salinity, in fact we find it regularly in marine waters, fresh or brackish waters. Extremely adaptable to all environments; we often find it at the mouths of rivers, in lagoon areas where sea water mixes with fresh water from the hinterland and inside bays and harbors. We met him among the boats of the small port of Castiglioncello: a well-known tourist and seaside resort near Livorno. Usually shy and suspicious, because often the object of predatory fish hunting, in this case he let himself be approached by the diver's camera who took the opportunity to make a close encounter.

Fanino Cirivasi

July 6, 2022

107

0

32

04:47

Eggs of european Squid

The European squid or common squid (Loligo vulgaris) is a large squid belonging to the family Loliginidae. It occurs abundantly in coastal waters from the North Sea to at least the west coast of Africa. This species lives from sea level to depths of 500 m. Its mantle is up to 40 cm long. The species is extensively exploited by commercial fisheries.

Fanino Cirivasi

July 1, 2022

130

0

36

04:28

Striped red Mullet

The striped red mullet or surmullet (Mullus surmuletus) is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, eastern North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea. They can be found in water as shallow as 5 metres or as deep as 409 metres depending upon the portion of their range that they are in. This species can reach a length of 40 centimetres. Toxic when not cooked. Though most are only around 25 centimetres. The greatest recorded weight for this species is 1 kilogram. This is a commercially important species and is also sought after as a game fish.

Fanino Cirivasi

June 25, 2022

79

0