I spent a long time keeping my eyes open for a Mat Zoanthid ‘colony’, and for the longest time was convinced they were absent from Anguillian waters despite being classed as common in the Caribbean. Then while snorkelling at Little Bay one day I stumbled across a large area of them in a really shallow rocky recess. Being the sealife nerd that I am I got really excited, and felt blessed that I had my camera with me as I snapped happily away. They would be quite uninteresting to the casual observer, but on returning home and looking at my images I was astonished as to how the sun glints glancing the Mat Zoanthid from had caused them to become iridescent in shades of green and yellow. To the naked eye they had looked dark green. Quite a nice surprise to be honest. Beautiful.
Originally posted on Instagram @sea_anguilla with the text: Mat Zoanthid encrusting a rock in Little Bay. These interesting filter feeding relatives to corals appear green normally but the strong sunlight really brought out tints of blue and yellow. Little Bay Marine Park is one of the most special places in Anguilla with always something interesting to see.