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Gray's Reef: The Living Sanctuary

The dusky flounder (Syacium papillosum) is usually left unnoticed buried and camouflaged by sand. click image for more...(photo: Dean De Philipo / Passage Productions)

The Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) has a long, torpedo shaped body. Gray to green back with silvery click image for more.... (photo: Dr. Matt Gilligan/ Savannah State Univ.)

The Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) ,also known as Blackfish, has short, Blue-black with white areas on head. click image for more... (photo: Karen Roeder)

The leopard toadfish (Opsanus pardus) has a large, flat head and a large mouth with fleshy projections around it. They spend most click image for more... (photo: Karen Angle)

Blue angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis) have a protuberant mouth filled with many small teeth used for nipping at corals and other invertebrates. (photo: Karen Angle)

Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are commonly seen at Gray's Reef basking on the ocean's surface, swimming, click image for more... (photo: Henry Ansley/Georgia DNR)

These red branching sponges, (Ptilcaulis spiculifera), are found all along the live bottom habitat at Gray's Reef. They usually have numerous tubes that extend from the main branch from the base mass. (photo:  Steve Gittings, Marine Sanctuaries Division)

These sponges are sometimes also called the stinking vase sponge (Ircinia campana) since they emit a terrible odor once removed from the water. (photo: Grays Reef NMS)

Amorphous sponges, as this lobate morph stinker sponge,(Ircinia campana) serve as hiding places for small fish such as this belted sand fish, (Serranus subligarius). (photo: Bruce Cowden)

Encrusting tunicates are commonly found at Gray's Reef. They vary in color and size and are often found growing over sponges and bryozoans. (photo: Karen Angle)

Colonial Tunicate (Symplegma rubra): These orange, yellow, and red colonies make bright colored patches click image for more... (photo: Dean De Philipo / Passage Productions)

The Regal sea fan (Lophogorgi hebes) is a type of fanlike soft corals (gorgonians) consisting of a meshwork of calcium carbonate spicules surrounding an inner core of click image for more... (photo: Henry Ansley / Georgia DNR)

The orange ridged sea star (Echinaster spinulosus) has orange yellow spines. It five legs with small tube feet in the under side which are used click image for more...(photo: Grays Reef NMS)

The extremely long legs and cone like body of Yellow line arrow crabs (Stenorhynchus seticornis) makes click image for more... (photo: Dean De Philipo / Passage Productions)

Sea slugs are uncoiled snails (mollusks) that have no shell and are have external gills (cerata). The regal sea goddess (Hyselodoris edenticulata) click image for more... (photo: Dean De Philipo / Passage Productions)

These American tube anemones (Ceriantheopsis americanus) have a worm like body made of nematocysts (stinging cells). (photo: Dean De Philipo / Passage Productions)

Comb jellies are extremely fragile transparent bioluminescence organisms that do not sting. click image for more... (photo: Dr. Matt Gilligan/Savannah State Univ.)

Nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) have nasal barbels (fleshy projection) used to find food, and click image for more... (photo: Dr. Matt Gilligan / Savannah State Univ.)

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