Up one level Amber Waves Photography Galleries » North Sulawesi, Indonesia » Lembeh Straits
Lembeh Straits
This is muck diving heaven - home to strange and wonderful critters which inhabit the black sands of this narrow strait. Some of the greatest biodiversity to be found anywhere.

At first page Next page 1-32 (of 33 found)
Orangutan Crab in Bubble Anemone. These little crabs are covered in hair like an orangutan. Teeny tiny! Another Orangutan Crab. Even when they're perfectly in focus, they look fuzzy. Doesn't even look like the same critter, does it? But here's another Orangutan Crab Scorpion Fish Face. There is a fish in there somewhere - see the eye? he's looking at you! Unusual species of lionfishcalled the Zebra Lionfish - looks like an insect, doesn't he? It's all about camoflauge in the black sand of the Lembeh Straits, as this Dragonet demonstrates. Then again, sometimes it's about viva la difference! This is a Rhinopias in purple phase. Evidently 2 weeks earlier it had been vibrant red. The Rhinopias (I fondly called him the Don't you wish slugs in your garden were this pretty? With the gills, this type of slug is called a Nudibranch, these are in the Chromodoris species. This the elusive Pygmy Seahorse. This little critter is smaller than the tip of a lady's pinky fingernail and as you can see, perfectly camoflauged. Also the dickens to try to photograph! This Pygmy Pipefish is typical of the camoflauge found on the smaller fish species - they often have Tiny, baby frogfish (also known as anglerfish). You can just see his Another baby frogfish, this time in orange. These Peacock Mantis Shrimp. The eyes on these critters are amazing - similar to a bee's but MUCH larger. But be careful about getting too close - the front legs strike out with such speed and force they can shatter a diver's mask... or camera lens. Anemone Shrimp on Corkscrew Anemone. I call this Really ugly guy, isn't he? This is another type of scorpionfish called a Devil Scorpionfish. Coconut Octopus. Their common name comes from the fact they're often found in coconut shells. But like all octopi, they're extremely adaptable and find homes where ever possible. In the Lembeh Straits, that's usually in trash, like this metal can. This can is about the size of a spam can. The next three shots are my Look closely here - he has that spec in his grasp. And now he brings in his legs to eat the morsel. Octo in a Bottle Beautiful little blenny in coral. Amazing how much personality these blennies have. No matter what the species or where I find them, I can't resist! They're so cute! Baby Cardinal Fish. You can tell by the size of the anemone tentacles how small these little babies are. Interestingly, there were also anemonefish in the anemone (with babies) and the two species seemed to cohabit peacefully... ...most of the time. Here's a face-off between a tiny anemonefish and baby cardinalfish. Even though he's smaller, the anemonefish is much more fierce, and probably won this confrontation. Okay, I have a thing about octopi. This one just glowed with color. This Longfin (Whiteface) Waspfish reminds me of a holstein cow for some reason. Again displaying the adaptive nature of octopi, this is the same octo in a plastic bag. Since the black sand offers little camoflage, the species in the Lembeh Straits have adapted, using the prevalent trash to create environments in which to thrive. In fact, if it weren't for the trash, I believe the Straits wouldn't be nearly as rich in such diverse life. Zebra Crab on Fire Urchin. Yes, those blue spots are natural and that bright. The color here is the real color. Another zebra crab. You can see these fire urchins vary in color - but those blue spots are positively neon! Flathead. Yes, that's his name.
Page 1 of 2 Next page

This album has 603 items in total    |    Album was updated 7/20/07 1:05 AM    |    Generated by JAlbum 7.2, custom skin ExhibitPlus 1.5


Valid HTML 4.01 Strict! valid CSS! Get Firefox!