Blog Log: 7 March 2010

March 24, 2010

The last time the Hantu Blog featured pictures shot by our volunteer Jimmy Goh, we received a plethora of feedback saying how brilliant his pictures were. Not only does Jimmy take great pictures, he also has an amazing knack for finding minute and fascinating critters on our reefs! Jimmy likes to refer to the above as the “lightbulb nudi” because of the bulbous appendages that stick out on its mantle. (Above: Cadlinella ornatissima)

You’re probably looking at the picture on the left wondering what it is you’re looking at. Don’t knock yourself up about it because when we first saw this picture we thought the same! If you rest your eyes for just a second in the middle of the picture, you will notice the eyes and pincers of a commensal crab that has managed to blend in so perfectly with the contours and texture of the sponge in which it makes its home. On the right is a larger-than-normal tiny nudibranch on the stem of a giant hydroid. This must be one of the largest specimens we’ve ever encountered! See how tiny they usually are!

A Rubble pipefish coils itself on a pink branching sponge.

Allied cowrie (Phenacovolva sp.) on coral whip.

Left: Tigertail seahorse (Hippocampus comes), Right: Ocellate Phyllidia (Phyllidia ocellata)

Like the crab hidden in the sponge further up this post, here’s another crab that’s a master of disguise – a spider crab that blends in perfectly in its nest of algae. See if you can decipher its limbs and nose.

Left: Marine flatworm (Pseudobiceros sp.) Right: Reliable chromodoris (Chromodoris fidelis)

To see more pictures from this dive trip, visit the Hantu Blog Gallery.

Posted in Blog Log, Photography