Looking to take an Underwater Photography Course in order to improve your photography skills on your next trip to Lembeh?
Divemaster in Training Tristan Stafford took Scott’s Digital Underwater Photography course this week, with amazing results! Here’s a wonderful account of his experience…
We have been seeing a fascinating variety of Phyllodesmium Nudibranchs when diving in Lembeh this week. This beautiful and widely varying species of nudibranch is commonly referred to as “Solar-Powered” because of its unique relationship to the algae it ingests.
We have been witness to some very interesting reproductive behavior amongst Cephalopods when diving in Lembeh this week. Both Cuttlefish and Reef Squid have all been putting on quite the show! These two beautiful Crinoid Cuttlefish (distinguished by the spotted pattern on their lower arms) were caught mating beneath the overhangs of a colorful sponge, and were so caught up in the activity at hand that they didn’t seem to notice the gathering crowd of divers.
“Are the Flamboyant Cuttlefish in Lembeh Venomous or Poisonous? What about the Blue Ring Octopus, and the Spiny Devilfish: Venomous or Poisonous?”
These are commonly asked critter-questions at Two Fish Lembeh, especially during weeks like these when all of the above mentioned animals are making a regular appearance. Apparently the Flamboyant Cuttlefish is poisonous, not venomous, and the Blue Ring Octopus and Spiny Devilfish are both venomous. The difference between venomous animals and poisonous animals is how their toxin is delivered.
A variety of Harlequins have made an appearance in Lembeh this week. Harlequin Shrimp, Harlequin Swimming Crabs and Harlequin Ghost Pipefish have been keeping our photographers and recreational divers busily entertained! Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera elegans) are a highly sought-after sight in Lembeh, and are often found near their favorite food source: the blue Linkia Sea Star. Harlequin Shrimp feed on Linkia Star tube feet; they remove each tasty foot with their tweezer-like claws before cutting into the Sea Star and consuming it further. A few lucky Sea Stars are able to shed an arm when the Harlequin Shrimp first begin to feed, but others are not so lucky. Harlequin Shrimp have been known to slowly consume a living Sea Star for many days, sometimes going so far as to feed their Sea Star in order to prolong the life of their food source!
“Do you ever see “Madonna’s Bra” in Lembeh?” a guest asked at the Two Fish dinner table this week. After finally figuring out what exactly the guest was referring to, a whole conversation about hilarious critter names ensued. As it turns out, “Madonna’s Bra” is the common name for the rarely encountered Platyctene Ctenophore (pronounced “teen-a-for”). Though it resembles a sea slug as it attaches to the seabed, Madonna’s Bra is not in fact a sea slug at all. Similar to other animals in its Comb Jelly phylum, two stinging tentacles protrude from each mound of the “bra”. When unsuspecting planktonic animals get ensnared in the tentacles of the Ctenophore, the tasty morsel is drawn into the body of the animal for consumption.
This week’s fascination with brooding shrimp in Lembeh caused us to look a bit more closely into shrimp relationships. It all started with one simple question from a guest: are female shrimp bigger than the males? According to our Tropical Pacific Reef Creature Identification guide (Humann and Deloach), you can often times distinguish the gender of a shrimp based on its living arrangement, but not necessarily by its size. For example, if you happen upon a single set of shrimp, such as the beautiful Coleman’s Shrimp pictured above, you can assume that the larger of the two shrimp is the female.
Go on: take a guess! What type of Frogfish do you think this is?
Surprisingly, it is an Antennarius striatus, or what is commonly referred to as a Hairy Frogfish. As it turns out the Hairy Frogfish comes in all hair lengths in Lembeh, including extremely short hair! Since this is a little known fact amongst our guests, this cool little critter caused a bit of a stir when it was spotted as a mated couple to a long-haired Hairy Frogfish. The guests were sure they were witnessing “inter-species” coupling!