Weird and Wonderful Underwater world of North Sulawesi (Part II)

1. Solar Powered Nudie.

These Nudies are know to ingest coral polyps in their early lives so that the algea that normally reside in the corals would reemerge (migrate) after the digestions and survive by clinging on to the inner walls of the Nudies' cerata (mantles) and continue on with the photosyntesis process. Which in turn produces energy. The result of it is that the Nudies get free lunches everyday and have no need to feed or work....



2. The beautiful flowery marks are the algea, that same ones which give the corals their vibrant colours. Here the orange sheen is equally tentalising.



3. Two Emperor Shrimps hitching a ride on a huge Malibe Fimbriata (a kind of nudie)





4. Risbecia tryoni



5. You, me and Marley



6. Honey....Its not fair that Marley is always scratching your back.....



7. Hypselodoris infucata



8. Glossodoris rufomarginata



9. Chromodoris reticulata



10. Chromodoris willani



11. Chromodoris lochi (pink and yellow gills)





12. Nembrotha chamberlaini



13. Nembrotha cristata



14. Nembrotha yonowae


15. Ceratosoma tenue



16. Box Crab





17. Elbow Crab, appearing just like a piece of dead leaf



18. Orang Utan Crab, hiding among the Bubble Corals



19. Porcelain Crab



20. A Decorator Crab. You can hardly pin point any of its body parts because the whole body was laden with different kinds of Coral Polyps, sponges and god know what other substrates.



21. Long Armed Spider Crab



22. Arrow Crab



23. Carrier Crab bench-pressing a Long Spine Red Urchin



24. Soft Coral Crab hiding among the Carnation Soft Coral




25. A Long Legged Squat Lobster



26. Pink Hairy Squat Lobster



27. Upside down Jellyfish



28. A yellow Thorny Seahorse



29. A pink pygmy seahorse, notice there is a ladybug amphipod on top of the branch just right behind the seahorse. There were many lurking around, as seen from other pics.



30. A Hermit Crab, In a shell that is embellished with huge coral polyps



31. Ooops....Pop goes the Corals, sorry guys............. Wardrobe Malfunction!



32. Conch Shell



33. Finger nail sized Bobtail Squids





34. A baby Cuttlefish clutching at a stalk.



35. Eggs (just about to be hatched) of a
Flamboyant Cuttlefish



36. A Mimic Octopus, the mascot of Lembeh Strait. This octupus has been known to mimic (instead of camorflage) the looks and actions of: Flouders, Jellyfish, Sea Star, Sea Snakes, Lionfish etc.





37. The Long Armed Octopus





38. Veined Octopus (Aka. Coconut Octopus as it has been known to live in discarded cocunut shells) Here we see them using Scallop shell, Conch shell and Clam shell as their makeshift house.







39. Two Whip Coral Shrimps on a Whip Coral



40. A Whip Coral Shrimp spotted with a round "hump" or "pouch" on its back. I have no idea what to make of it, could it be an egg?Add a captionA Whip Coral Shrimp spotted with a round "hump" or "pouch" on its back. I have no idea what to make of it, could it be an egg?



41. A commensal Emporer Shimp on a Sea Star. Notice the colouration of the shrimp is close to the host, an effective camorflage.



42. 10,9,8,7.........Make sure you hide properly cause we a coming to get you. (A pair of Anemone Cleaner Shrimps playing hide and seek).



43. Anemone Shrimp...this one is a mum to be



44. A baby Harlequin Shrimp, which feed exclusively on the Sea Stars. Notice its diminutive size placed before the tip of a screwdriver.





45. A burrowing Mantis Shrimps, which are known sometimes to attack the camara dome port. Their claws are so powerful that they can crack the dome port in split seconds.



46. A most peculiar Mantis Shrimp. Not identified yet. Neon Orange in colour, captivating to say the least.



47. A Bobbit Worm. A nortonal worm about 7 to 9 feet long. Ambush predators feed on small fish and invertabrates. Notice its scissorlike mouth known to snap shut in breakneck speed mauling its pray before taking them in as food. This one should be rename the "Jaws 2"



48. A Bristle Worm. scavengers and meat eaters



49. A poisonous Flower Urchin



50. A Heart Urchin



51. A colony of sea squirts, aka. the Ascidians. some sort of sponge-like substances, taking in the nutrients in the water, flush out the filtered water.

thank you so much perry for sharing these wonderful photos,i ve decided to get my padi open water asap.

Really James? the power of "a thousand words". Good on you and if you need help to look for an experienced PADI instructor contact me. I know one with 3500 dives under his belt.

yup,but it seems like very rushing for me to do it this year,i think i ll get the PADI license on the next season.Thanks again perry.

Perry , your photos Rock !

nw i realized that many sea creatures i didnt c b4~a nice sea knowledge for me~

Hi Frankie and IU Lung:

I am humbled by your kind words of compliments and encouragements! Thanks! And i am all itched over for another round of diving session.....