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Golden cownose rays are beautiful animals that are often found in schools. They inhabit the Pacific ocean in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and a few other countries. These rays were observed in the Galapagos Islands at a depth of 30m (100ft). They circled and descended upon a sandy bottom and flapped, gulping the sand and debris. They lifted off and spat sand out and then circled back. This behaviour was repeated several times. Biologists who had come to this dive site to observe and study mola mola, the largest bony fish in the world got more than they expected when this school of rays appeared. The researchers had filmed mola mola minutes before and they were now moving to the rock wall to begin their ascent. They had seen the golden cownose school earlier in the dive, closer to the surface. At first glance, this behaviour seems like feeding. Golden cownose rays detect mollusks and shrimp with electro sensors and they dig into the sand to inhale their prey. But these rays were seen gulping large quantities of sand and rapidly spitting it out through their gills. It is believed that this specific behaviour may be a means of cleaning parasites out of their gills. More work will be done to learn what these rays were doing and why. These cownose rays are just one of the amazing species of animal that can be found in the Galapagos Islands.

Sea lions are like the playful puppies of the ocean. They are much like our furry canine companions in looks and in personality. And just like dogs do, sea lions get jealous when people pay attention to other animals. This sea lion was curious about a group of scuba divers that had entered a bay off Fernandina Island in the Galapagos to observe and film marine iguanas, the only lizard in the world that dives under water to eat the vegetation that grows beneath the waves. As the divers made their way over the rocks and around the iguanas, this sea lion darted past them and all around them, rushing straight at them and skillfully arcing away at the last second. His curiosity and playfulness was truly endearing. But when the divers didn't watch the sea lion enough, it decided that the iguana needed to go. The sea lion grabbed the iguana by the tail and dragged it away for the people, towards the surface. The iguana doesn't enjoy this game at all and it wiggles and tries to break free. Sea lions don't hurt the iguanas and, although it was distressing for the divers to watch, they had to trust the sea lion to release the iguana. Chasing the pair to help the iguana would be useless because the sea lion can swim much more quickly than an awkward human. To try catching it would encourage the sea lion to hold on and prolong the game. To everyone's relief, the sea lion let the iguana go and it made its way to the surface for air. Marine iguanas are a unique animal that has evolved from land iguanas. They arrived on these islands many years ago and faced hostile conditions with a near absence of fresh water and almost no food during the arid season. This forced them to adapt by eating the vegetation that grows in the shallows and the tidal zones around the islands. To better reach this vegetation, the larger males have developed strong swimming skills and the ability to hold their breath for up to thirty minutes at a time. The cold water here saps their strength and robs them of body heat quickly. They must bask in the sun to raise their core temperature before they plunge into the water. They must also bask in the sun to warm back up and digest their food after a feeding session. The animals in the Galapagos Islands are truly magnificent and mysterious creatures.

Divers perched on a ledge against a rock wall witnessed a beautiful and unusual sight as a long procession of big-eyed jacks passed in front of them. This is the wall beside Darwin's arch, one of the world's most legendary dive sites in the world. Scuba divers come here to swim among the Galapagos sharks, the huge schools of hammerhead sharks, and the whale sharks. The sharks come to these warrants due to the convergence of four major ocean currents. These currents create an upwelling of nutrient-rich water from the deep. Bait fish come here in huge numbers to feed, bringing the other predators with them. Some of the largest sharks benefit from the cleaning stations. Trevallies and silky sharks eat remoras off the whale sharks. Smaller fish pick off parasites. It's a complex web of interdependency and all species benefit in some way. These jacks travel in large schools to help them evade predators. When a group this massive passes over or around scuba divers, it can create an effect similar to an eclipse. Light is blocked out and there is near darkness until the fish have all gone by. Their shimmering scales provide a mesmerizing effect that is beautiful to behold.

Flounders are nature's true masters of disguise. Capable of rapidly changing the pigments in their skin to match their surroundings, they can transform their appearance in seconds. Visual cues inform the brain of the colours and patterns in their close environment and the brain signals the body to closely match these as quickly as possible. This is useful in avoiding predators, and also in ambushing prey. The flounder is an awkward swimmer. It cannot rely on speed or agility to outrun larger fish or catch its food. It has evolved to lie on the bottom, waiting for opportunities. They begin their life swimming upright in a typical fish manner. One eye eventually migrates to the other side of the body so that it can lie on the bottom and use it's elongated eye structures like periscopes. This is an incredible adaptation that is unique to flounders. These flounders were found in the waters of the Galapagos Islands. The large one in the final clip was found on a rock formation beside Cousin's Rock, a very remote dive site with strong current and stunning topography. The flounder had skillfully imitated the texture of the rock it was hiding on but it seemed to have struggled with colour-matching. The blue that it displayed was an obvious contrast to the pink and grey lava rock bottom. The Galapagos Islands are unmatched in their beauty and diversity, drawing scuba divers from all over the world to see the animals that call them their home.