Orbicular batfish

The orbicular batfish (Platax orbicularis) is impossible to mistake: seen from the side its body is an almost perfect disc, silvery with faint dark bars and tall, extended dorsal and anal fins. Juveniles are reddish-brown with frilly fins, but the adults mature into elegant, plate-sized silver discs that glide through the water with slow, measured strokes.

As odd as its shape is, its character is just as friendly. Batfish hover in small groups around wrecks, reef walls and mooring buoys, and unlike most fish they actively seek out divers: often it is the batfish that swims over to you, peers into your mask and follows you for half the dive. Their diet is mixed – algae, plankton and jellyfish are all on the menu, which makes them a valuable part of the reef's clean-up crew.

Around Hurghada the El Mina wreck is one of the most reliable meeting points: a small squadron almost always hovers around the masts. They also appear regularly along the walls of the Giftun Islands and above the El Fanadir plateau, often just below the surface – so snorkelers get to meet the curious silver plates too.