Bizarre and Beautiful Coral Reef Animals

Colorful fishes throng a reef in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

A feather star waves its slender arms, filtering bits of food from the water.

This lionfish, with fins and venomous spines extended, is an aggressive predator.

This queen parrotfish scrapes algae from Caribbean reefs with its parrot-like beak.

This Caribbean sea anemone brightens a variety of Caribbean reef habitats.

The feathery strands at the back of this nudibranch’s body are its gills.

A diet of algae and seagrasses gives this turtle greenish colored fat—and its name.