With tons of different kind of nudis in the Lembeh Strait, I find it hard sometimes to get excited about the „sluggy stuff“. However, there’s certain species which, even if you’re not a nudi lover, are just spectacular. Sometimes it’s their funky colors, sometimes their incredible shapes, just like the Miamira Alleni which Joni Toy spotted the other day.
It’s considered the holy grail of critters because they’re extremely rare and usually only spotted during a short period of time: the Hairy Octopus. Once you’ve seen Wonderpus, Mimic, Blue-Ring and Mototi, this is probably the ultimate Cephalopod left on the list.
The Denise Pygmy Seahorse (Hippocampus denise) is one of the several Pygmy Seahorses to be seen in Lembeh Strait. Like its bigger cousin – the Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse – it lives in Seafans. But this species is not restricted to one type of seafan. It can be found it different types of seafans AND in…
One of the lesser known and more rarely seen families of fishes are the bandfish. These elongated, snaky looking creatures are relatively big and usually found quite deep – down to about 500m. But some species of bandfish can be found in shallower areas. For example the Yellow-Spotted Bandfish (Acanthocepola abreviata) which we see on some spots here…
The Cryptic Sponge Shrimp or Paron Shrimp (Gelastocaris paronae) is a small crustacean that really has perfected its camouflage. It grows to about 2,5 cm in size and lives on sponges which it matches perfectly in colour, texture and shape: The Cryptic Sponge Shrimp has very small dark spots all over its body that make him actually…
The Giant Frogfish (Antennarius commersoni) is the biggest of the various Frogfish species you can find in Lembeh Strait. And without doubt one of the most impressive ones. This critter can grow up to 30cm in size and comes in various colours: white, tan, brown, black, grey – but also more striking colourations like yellow, red, pink,…
Besides Frogfish and Octopus, Seahorses are one of the big attractions in Lembeh Strait. There are the tiny Pygmy Seahorses and the “normal” sized seahorses. The most commonly seen of the bigger ones is – as the name suggests – the Common Seahorse (Hippocampus taeniopterus). These Seahorses grow relatively big and can reach about 20cm in size. They…
The Ribbon Eel (Rhinomuraena quaesita) is one of the more attractive Morays and commonly found in the Lembeh Strait. Due to its elegant shape, strong colours and predictable movements it is also a very popular photo subject. Ribbon Eels are almost always found living in sand holes – even though they can sometimes be seen free…
The Tuberculated Frogfish or Bandfin Frogfish (Antennatus tuberosus) is one of the rarer found Frogfish species in Lembeh Strait. This one is actually even the first one i have ever seen here. So obviously we were quite excited when one of our guides came back to the resort and asked us to check a guests camera…
From all the Critters to be seen in Lembeh Strait, the Mantis Shrimp is definitely one that the untrained Critter Spotter can easily find on its own. At least many of them … there is not only one kind of Mantis Shrimp. First of all, the Family of the Mantis Shrimp consists of predators only…