Bright orange Garibaldi drift through a kelp-covered reef in green coastal water.

Garibaldi at Grand View Reef

Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) The brilliant orange California state marine fish, a damselfish whose adults are fiercely territorial nest-guarders on rocky reefs. Common year-round in southern California’s kelp forests, including the reefs off Encinitas; the species is fully protected in California waters. Wikipedia | iNaturalist | eBird/map

July 4, 2026
Golden Pacific seahorse clinging to a submerged mangrove root on a murky seabed in Ecuador

Wild Seahorse Under a Mangrove Tree in Ecuador

Pacific Seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) The largest seahorse in the eastern Pacific, growing up to 30 cm — and one of the few species tough enough to thrive in the brackish, silty world beneath mangrove roots. Found year-round along Ecuador’s coast, but increasingly rare due to bycatch and habitat loss; listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Wikipedia | iNaturalist