Creature Feature: Lembeh/Ocellated Frogfish

It’s always extremely exciting whenever a new species gets discovered or described. When this particular frogfish was identified, it was a personal highlight of mine and many other critter/frogfish lovers as it had been photographed many times over without anything concrete to say what it was.

Then in a scientific paper by Pietsch and Arnold back in 2017, this frogfish was officially described as Nudiantennarius subteres.

Common names for this frogfish have included the “Lembeh frogfish”, due to its regular appearances in the Lembeh strait, and the “Ocellated frogfish” because of the spot(s) that appear on the body especially at the rear of the frogfish by the tail base. This frogfish is between 1-5cm in size and often seen quite shallow. The darker coloured individuals are exclusively seen on the bottom of muck sites with black and brown sand or silt. They have also been seen hiding amongst mooring blocks and ropes as well as patches of algae. The more colourful variations of the Lembeh frogfish choose to rest amongst appropriately coloured sponges and may be found slightly deeper.

In terms of characteristics, this frogfish has a few that can make it slightly easier to recognise. The rod is usually about half the length of the second spine with a small tuft or ball as a lure on the end. The third spine is more triangle shaped and has a membrane connecting to the dorsal fins. On each side of the rear dorsal fin is an ocellus and sometimes can be more than one. The body texture can vary, some appear to be smoother with very short spines and others look a little more “dirty” with plenty of sandy coloured patches and spines on the body.

As things stand, this frogfish has only been spotted in a few parts of South East Asia and Japan so it’s pretty rare! We are very fortunate to see the Lembeh frogfish quite often here, so next time you pay us a visit make sure to let your guide know so they can keep an eye out for this elusive frogfish.

Why Dive with NAD-Lembeh Resort?

LOCATION

NAD-Lembeh Resort is a small, owner-operated, photography-oriented dive resort in the Lembeh Strait. We are situated in a private bay on Lembeh Island, away from the hustle and bustle of the mainland. We guarantee a 2:1 guest to guide ratio as standard, which makes for a private dive experience and lots of time to take pictures.

ROOMS & BUNGALOWS

All our rooms (10 Beachfront Rooms, 5 Seaview Bungalows) offer ocean view, air conditioning, hot water, wifi, including full board. Our resort has only few steps, which makes our layout extremely convenient to get from your room to the restaurant, camera room, bar and floating jetty.

DIVE CENTER

Our dive team consists of 15 full-time guides, with over 100 years of combined experience! Air as well as Nitrox and various cylinder sizes (both DIN and Yoke are available onsite).

BOATS & FLOATING JETTY

NAD-Lembeh has 4 large, purpose-built dive boats. Each at around 15m long, they offer lots of space and comfort for the divers. Boats feature onboard toilets, towels, drinks and snacks and first aid/ oxygen.

Our jetty allows our guests dignified and quick boat entries – all our dive boats can be moored simultaneously, so there is no wading through the shallows to get on the boat for the dive!

PHOTO CENTER

Our focus at NAD is to take your underwater photography to the next level. We offer 1:1 photo classes and our guides are all proficient with photography, using our rental equipment for fun dives when not diving with guests.

We shoot video up to 8K, along with Nikon/ Canon SLR and mirrorless setups. This gives us a rounded knowledge of all cameras. We are also the go-to location for natural history filming in the Straits.

CAMERA ROOM

Our newly renovated, huge camera room offers one work space for each and every guest. The spacious, individual benches with lots of power points were purposely built for underwater photographers. NAD’s dedicated camera room is also the perfect place to work on and edit your pictures.

Several rental cameras and strobes are available onsite. We have basic tools and spare parts in our gift shop in case of minor camera problems as well as a drying cabinet, and computer for you to work on and edit your photos.