Trapania Mini World

On a recent Muck Dive in the north of the Lembeh Strait we had a blast: Hairy Frogfishes (3 of them), Mimic Octopus, Wonderpus, Coconut Octopus, Seahorses and many more. Plus i had to find out, that all these subjects where way too big for my 100mm lens on APS-C sensor. So i left all these critters on the side and went to examine some of the numerous “micro habitats” the black sand muck dives have to offer beside just the sandy bottom. After checking several old buoy lines and fishing nets (which are always good for spectacular finds) i got stuck on a little green-brown sponge which had maybe the size of a LP (the black things before the CDs).
This sponge seemed to be the small world for a group of Trapania Nudibranchs of two different species: The Black Ring Trapania (Trapania armilla) and the attractive Brown Trapania with the white patches. It is quite common to see different species of Trapanias on one sponge – but this sponge had more than 15 individuals on it. From 2cm adults as well a tiny juveniles. And some of them where mating, some of them where laying eggs and others just posed on the sponge. It was a really cool example of a micro habitat and Lembeh Strait is full of those little “Micro Universes”. Once you know what lives where – Critter spotting gets way easier.