Mark Strickland

Denise's Pygmy Seahorse, Raja Ampat

A school of Fusiliers streams over healthy hard and soft corals in the Raja Ampat Islands,

A visual combination rarely seen elsewhere: colorful soft coral, only a few feet below the surface, framed by shafts of sunlight filtering through trees overhead. Raja Ampat Islands,

Caitlin's Dottyback, Pictichromis caitlinae, endemic to Cenderawasih Bay

A trio of Reef Mantas, Manta alfredi, swoop down to be serviced by small wrasses at a cleaning station. Raja Ampat

A pair of Banded Shrimpgobies, Cryptocentrus cinctus, watch for danger while their partner, an Alpheid Shrimp, works to maintain their burrow. Raja Ampat

A juvenile Lemon Damselfish, Pomacentrus moluccensis, hovers over its home, a colony of Acropora coral. Raja Ampat

"Snell's Window" Raja Ampat is among the few areas in the world where colorful soft corals grow within inches of the surface, sometimes attached to mangrove roots. Healthy mangrove forests are a prime feature of Raja Ampat, and are key to healthy marine habitat, functioning as nurseries to many species. Raja Ampat

Whale Shark feeding at bagan. Cenderawasih Bay

Native children and their bling! Cenderawasih Bay

This female Spinecheek Anemonefish, Premnas biaculeatus, is guarding her clutch of eggs.. Raja Ampat

A tightly packed school of Ribbon Sweetlips, Plectorhinchus polytaenia, with several other sweetlips species, hovers in formation near a coral bommie. Raja Ampat