Hawksbill Turtle
This happy chappy is a youngish male hawksbill turtle, cruising over the top of a reef in the sunny Maldives, with a small school of bright orange lyretail anthias to keep him company. Hawksbill turtles live throughout the tropical seas, in the Indian Ocean they are represented by this sub-species, eretymochels imbricata. Despite that broad distribution they are considered critically endangered. They have been heavily hunted for their meat but mostly for their shells for ornamental use. They are pretty and sometimes quite engaging turtles so please leave them in the ocean. As well as eating sponges they will also eat jellyfish so... another good reason to leave them be.
