One of the Critters that really has a suiting name is the Candy Crab (Or if you want to use the more boring names you can also call it Soft Coral Crab or Holophrys oatesii) … it really looks like a colourful piece of Candy. These Crabs grow to about 2 Read more…
Today we took probably our last trip of the season to the other side of Lembeh. The south wind has started, so expect cool water in the Strait in the next month or so.
On the first dive we hit a small Pinnacle with perfect timing with regards to current. We had tricky vis on some of the sites, but had a super time with beautiful corals, Sharks and Rays and of course, macro critters!
All divers interested in critters sooner or later will get interested in crustaceans. Some of the crustaceans are considered “must see” items, such as harlequin shrimp, tiger shrimp, several of the extremely small shrimp recently found here in Lembeh, emperor shrimp and a host of other shrimp. The keyword here is shrimp. Crabs on the other hand seldom elicit the same interest from divers. However, many crabs have at least as interesting life styles as shrimp, and many are also colorful and attractive, such as the amazing xeno crabs.
Xeno crab
As those of you that have read my earlier posts might already understand, one of the aspects I find the most interesting when diving is the close symbiotic relationship between many marine animals, where one animal provides another animal with living quarters. Most crabs are free living and do not show symbiotic relationships to other animals. In contrast, here in Lembeh some really fascinating examples of symbiosis between crabs and other animals can be studied. (more…)
As Phyllodensium Nudibranchs are uncommon, bizarre and attractive at the same time, they always make a good Blog post. Specially when they are found in numbers. Having blogged some weeks ago already about the Solar powered Nudibranch, it’s today the turn of the Kabira Phyllodensium (Phyllodensium kabiranum). As they are Read more…
The molluscs is a big and very diverse group consisting of animals as different as a mussel and an octopus! Most colorful and strikingly patterned among the molluscs are the cowries, used as currency in different cultures over time and now prized collector items due to their shining and often Read more…
On yesterdays afternoon dive we went out to see Harlequin Shrimps (and we also found several ones). But before looking for Harlequins in the shallows i spend some time around some Bommies a little bit off the dive side. I took my time scanning the Ascidian Clusters for cool Micro Read more…
Before i even start with this post: Thank you to everbody crazy enough about diving to read our BLOG on Christmas day. We hope you all have a good time where ever you are – even if there is no Muck diving around. But back to the post: Of course we Read more…
Now Simon managed to download his photos, we have a few (not many due to strobe batteries not being used for several months) photos from East-Lembeh. The Sites were lovely as mentioned in the previous post, and the topography was fantastic. There can be current, but that can’t be helped Read more…