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One Great Shot: Spotting a Spawning Sea Angel

On a dive in the Maldives, a photographer captures a pteropod releasing eggs.

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by Nicolas Descriaux

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pteropod releasing eggs

Being relatively new to both scuba diving and underwater photography, I was thrilled to capture this photo of a pteropod laying eggs while I was diving at Kuramathi island, Maldives.

Pteropods are a type of sea snail that spend their entire lives swimming without ever touching the ocean floor. Most of them are less than a centimeter long. They are known as sea angels because they use their winglike flaps to swim, making them appear to be flying in the water. Like many species, pteropods are threatened by climate change.