Although black durgon often seem to be everywhere above the reefs, I found them extremely wary and difficult to approach for a picture.

Among the triggerfish family, they can scoot into small crevices within the reef and lock the unique anterior spine of their dorsal fin – or “trigger” – between the rocks, making it nearly impossible for hungry predators to extricate them. This one was feeding around Tent reef.

When found in the water column, in the absence of much of the light spectrum, they appear much like their name – black.

But when artificial light is introduced, as with the flash in this picture, they become extremely colorful and quite beautiful.