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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
Again – no clue on what species this is, and I’m not even sure what to call it other than as I described it in the post title. I did share another photo of one of these spiders in a previous post.
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…
Ok – I finally got around to making a new video from some of the clips I had from my last stay at La Bila. This one is just of a couple cuttlefish we encountered during a couple night dives. There is even a clip…
Well… sometimes even with my ID books, I just can’t manage to identify some nudibranchs. This particular one seems like it would be very unique and easy to ID, but I just simply can’t find it in any of the books, and any of the…
I’m not 100% sure on a specific species for this Hydroid Crab, but this is another form of interesting camouflage found on the reef. Hydroids are kind of like corals in that they use stinging cells to catch their food, but unlike corals they do…
Again – like the other jumping spiders I found in Bali, I have no clue what the name is for this spider (if there even is one), but with that yellow coloring and the black stripes, I figured I’d call it a Bumblebee Jumping Spider.
While I was in Bali, I would make a point to check any sea stars I saw – especially ones with damaged or missing arms – to see if I could find any Harlequin Shrimp as they prey on sea stars. That was how I…
