Marine life
Fish and animals: friendly, venomous and aggressive.
Clownfish (anemonefish) Harmless
Lives among the tentacles of sea anemones.
Parrotfish Harmless
Bites coral algae and makes the white sand.
Butterflyfish & angelfish Harmless
Colourful, flat reef fish, often in pairs.
Sea turtles (green & hawksbill) Harmless
Gentle, long-lived reptiles that must surface to breathe.
Manta & eagle rays Harmless
Graceful filter-feeders and cruisers.
Whale shark Harmless
The biggest fish in the sea; it eats plankton.
Dolphins Harmless
Intelligent and playful; spinner dolphins live in the Red Sea.
Dugong Harmless
A shy sea cow that grazes on seagrass.
Napoleon wrasse Harmless
A large, friendly wrasse with a hump on the forehead.
Octopus & cuttlefish Be careful
Masters of camouflage and clever hunters.
Moray eel Be careful
Opens and closes its mouth to breathe; this is not a threat.
Barracuda Be careful
Sleek silver predators that hover in schools.
Reef sharks (grey & whitetip) Be careful
Common on healthy reefs and shy of divers.
Hammerhead sharks Be careful
Seen in schools at offshore sites; very shy.
Oceanic whitetip shark Aggressive
A bold open-water shark that can approach divers closely.
Titan & Picasso triggerfish Aggressive
Guards its nest fiercely during breeding season.
Lionfish Venomous
Beautiful, with venomous spines on the back.
Stonefish & scorpionfish Venomous
Perfectly camouflaged, with highly venomous spines.
Crocodilefish Harmless
A flat ambush hunter that blends into the sand.
Stingrays Venomous
Rest on the sand; a barb on the tail can inflict a painful wound.
Sea urchins Be careful
Spines can pierce skin and snap off.
Crown-of-thorns starfish Be careful
Spiny starfish that eats living coral.
Fire coral Be careful
Not a true coral; its touch burns like nettles.
Jellyfish Be careful
Many species sting; most stings in the Red Sea are mild.
Cone snails Venomous
Pretty shells with a harpoon-like venomous sting.
Pufferfish & porcupinefish Be careful
Inflate with water when stressed.
Seahorses & pipefish Harmless
Tiny, delicate and easily stressed.
Hard and soft corals Harmless
Tiny animals that build the reef.
Nudibranchs & Spanish dancer Harmless
Soft-bodied sea slugs in dazzling colours.
Anthias schools Harmless
Orange clouds above the coral walls.
Sea snakes (rare in Red Sea) Be careful
Venomous but very rarely bite people.
Golden rules around marine life
Look, do not touch; give space; never feed.