Images Dated 7th February 2006

An F/A-18C Hornet launches from aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis

Pacific Ocean, February 7, 2006 - An F/A-18C Hornet launches from one of four steam-powered catapults aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)

© Stocktrek Images

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Schoolmaster snapper hunting

Schoolmaster snappers (Lutjanus apodus) hunting for prey amongst coral rubble. Behind the snappers is a trevally (silver), while at lower left is a sharptail eel (Myrichthys breviceps). The schoolmaster snapper inhabits reefs in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It is found as far north as Massachusetts, USA, but is more common in the Caribbean and around northern South America. It is also found in the eastern Atlantic, off the coast of western Africa. It feeds on smaller fish, crustaceans, molluscs and cephalopods (such as squid), and can reach a length of over 65 centimetres. It is often caught as a food fish as it has fine meat. Photographed off Bonaire Island in the Netherlands Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea

© GEORGETTE DOUWMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Coney grouper and eel

Coney grouper (Cephalopholis fulvus) following a sharptail eel (Myrichthys breviceps) as it rootles amongst sand and rocks for food. The grouper will take any small food item unearthed by the eel. These fish are found in shallow tropical waters in the western Atlantic. The eel feeds mainly on crabs, and can reach a length of over a metre. The coney is known to follow eels while they hunt, but also hunts smaller fish and crabs by itself. It can reach a length of around 40 centimetres. It is a protogynous hermaphrodite. This means that all the fish start life female, but turn male as they grow. In the case of the coney, females become mature at around 16cm and turn male at 20cm. Photographed off Bonaire Islands in the Netherlands Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea

© GEORGETTE DOUWMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY