These octos get their name from being active during the day and indeed we spotted this one either hunting or hiding among the reef in Timor Leste. That distinct brown/white coloration is typical of a Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea), but they can also show a…
It isn’t too often that a nudibranch is this cooperative, but this series of photos shows how when I first spotted (pun intended!) this nudibranch, it was just crawling along the sea floor. However, as I got closer, it decided to sit up nice a…
Though this may really look like a nudibranch (and in particular one I’ve shared before), this is actually a juvenile sea cucumber – probably a Black Spotted Sea Cucumber (Bohadschia graeffei). One particular point you can use to spot the difference is the tube feet…
I only took one photo of these tiny little Sponge Isopods (Santia sp.) when I was in Timor Leste, and I kind of wish I had gotten some closer shots (though I also am not sure how close this one is). I am not sure…
A tiny little critter found during a night dive in Amed, this Olivar’s Squat Lobster (Munida olivarae) is only a little over an inch long including its claws.
Yes, you read that title correctly… this is a very deadly snail in the cone snail family. While I was on my Timor Leste expedition with Blue Ventures, our hazardous marine creatures lecture included a section about cone snails… of course most people scoff at…
These photos are of two different individuals, but they are among the coolest eels I’ve seen during diving. The Napoleon Snake Eel (Ophichthus bonaparti) gets to about two and a half feet long and lives in sandy burrows (as you can see from mostly just…
This seems to be a common thread, but here is another nudibranch that I am having a hard time identifying. I think the most likely identification is for Chromodoris tennentana or Goniobranchus tennentanus which are both the same (the Chromodoris family seems to have received…
Well, at least I think it is a Signalfin Goby (Coryphopterus signipinnis) – it is hard to tell with such a tiny and cryptic fish. They only get to about 1.25 inches long, but what is funny is I distinctly remember taking this photo and…
An odd looking fish we spotted during a muck dive on my second visit to La Bila, this is a Longhorn Cowfish (Lactoria conuta)… And those eyes are just as impressive as its horns…
This small butterfly fish was one of my favorites while in Timor Leste. I am pretty sure it is a Spot Banded Butterfly Fish (Chaetodon punctatofasciatus), but there is a possibility it is another species or even a hybrid. The research I’ve done said these…
It took a little while to ID this pair of Redbarred Shrimp Gobies (Amblyeleotris sp.) because the photo of them in the ID book has much more muted colors than this pair is exhibiting. They are tough to find more specifics online because I do…
I guess sea cucumbers are not among my favorite sea critters… I’m not sure if I find them boring or ugly or what, but I don’t often photograph them. This particular one is a Spotted Worm Sea Cucumber (Synapta maculata) and I focused on its…
This nudibranch actually mimics a flatworm – particularly with the way it ruffles up the edges of its mantle as it moves…. but unlike a flatworm, you can clearly see the rhinophores and gills that flatworms lack. Discodoris boholiensis.
This shrimp is actually shown in my ID book, but it is listed as an “undetermined” species (Cuapetes sp. 5 according to the book), so I figured since it has those rather obvious orange claws, I’d give it a name…
