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Strange creatures seen on “muck” dives in Cenderawasih.

Muck diving gets its name from the type of environment at the bottom of the dive sites.

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Under a jetty

 

It is frequently muddy, silty, sandy or old volcanic ash, as well as areas with lots of vegetation and other man made rubbish.  You often see bizarre and unusual creatures on such dives.

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under a jetty

Muck diving in Cenderawasih Bay turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.

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Cenderawasih Bay

 

Especially under a jetty, there are many strange, creatures swimming and crawling around. Really a worthwhile experience

 

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Upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea andromeda)

The Upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea andromeda) is a true jellyfish. The medusa lies upside down on the bottom and from there it’s name. It has a mild sting from stinging cells that are secreted in a mucus layer that covers the jellyfish when it feels threatened.The colours can vary quite a bit depending on the location. It’s about the size of a man’s hand.

On the video it can be seen that some discarded plastic-can turned out to be quite a popular place with fish that were moving in and out constantly.

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White-spotted Left-handed Hermit Crabs (Dardanus megistos)

The White-spotted Left-handed Hermit Crabs (Dardanus megistos) are quite interesting to watch. They can move around very fast.
The Anemone Hermit Crab (Dardanus pedunculatus), on he video, is carrying four anemones on its shell and they will be transferred onto the new bigger, shell, once the crab has outgrown this one.

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Tiny Hermit Crab (Pagurixus rubrovittatus)

This Tiny Hermit Crab (Pagurixus rubrovittatus) is very small, especially if you compare it to the snail next to it. My video lights were attracting thousands of Krill. This little Hermit Crab couldn’t believe his luck and couldn’t eat all the food fast enough that was coming his way. He was having an absolute feast.
The Tail-spot Squirrelfish (Sargocentron cornutum) is very common.

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Tail-spot Squirrelfish (Sargocentron cornutum)

 

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Honeycomb Worms (Sabellariidae lygdamis)

The Honeycomb Worms (Sabellariidae lygdamis) are very difficult to photograph. They disappear underground, extremely fast, whenever they detect the slightest movement.

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Half-spined Seahorse (Hippocampus semispinosus)

The Half-spined Seahorse (Hippocampus semispinosus) seems to float around and go with the flow. It will curl its tail around a leaf or branch once it reaches a suitable spot where it wishes to stay. It is also one of the suction feeders.

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Praying-Mantis Shrimp (undescribed)

This Praying-Mantis Shrimp (undescribed), so named by myself,  is a very unusual looking shrimp. It is covered in camouflage and looks exactly like a Praying Mantis walking around on the sand. It might be a  Hyastenus bispinosus (Arrow crab).

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Devilfish (Inimictus didactylus)

The Devilfish (Inimictus didactylus) is part of the larger Scorpionfish group. It is extremely ugly and crawls around on the sandy bottom.

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Long-Tailed Sea Hare (Stylocheilus spp)

Even the Long-Tailed Sea Hare (Stylocheilus spp) and Nudibranchs are fairly colourless to blend in with the “muck” as part of their camouflage.

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Pygmy Octopus

The little Pygmy Octopus with it’s rectangular eyes is very cute to watch as it jogs along the sandy bottom.

You can also watch the video on YouTube at:

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Fish schools and Nudibranchs of Bali

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Diving at the Pedang Bai Pier in Bali is an experience not to be missed when you are in Bali.

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It’s probably one of the best dive sites there. The water is calm. It’s excellent for macro photography. Great viz and lends itself to good muck diving photography.

Schools of hundreds of fish swarming and moving as one, like a flock of birds.  You can watch them for hours. I’m always astonished at how they manage to synchronize so well.

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And then there are the nudibranchs and slugs, with all their wonderful shapes and colours. You can spend hours diving on a very small area, just by looking at all the small things.

 

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Sodwana Bay, Antons Reef.

After many years of diving all over the world, I still regard Rocktail Bay and Sodwana Bay as one of the best dive spots in the world.

I took some macro shots  at Antons Reef in Sodwana Bay, which is part of the Isimangaliso National Park. A world heritage site.

I was taking my new wet macro video lens out on a test dive. So, all the footage was not that great, but, next time will be better.

Glossodoris hikuerensis is a relatively large nudibranch and can reach at least 100 mm in length. Has a pale-brown body which is covered by speckled white dots.

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Glossodoris hikuerensis nudibranch

Neopetrolisthes maculatus is a species of porcelain crab. It is a small, colourful crustacean with a porcelain-like shell. This porcelain crab is usually found within the stinging tentacles of a number of sea anemone species.

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Anemone Porcelain Crab. (Neopetrolisthes maculatus)

Thor amboinensis, commonly known as the squat shrimp or sexy shrimp. It lives symbiotically on corals, sea anemones a small shrimp growing to a length of about 13 millimeters. It’s extremely small and difficult to photograph.

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Squat shrimp / Sexy shrimp. (Thor amboinensis)

Porcupinefish (Diodon nicthemerus) commonly called blowfish (and, sometimes,balloonfish and globefish). They are sometimes collectively called pufferfish. Fugu can be lethally poisonous due to its tetrodotoxin. Fugu is the Japanese word for pufferfish and the dish prepared from it.Some consider the liver the tastiest part but it is also the most poisonous, and serving this organ in restaurants was banned in Japan in 1984. Fugu has become one of the most celebrated and notorious dishes in Japanese cuisine.Fugu contains lethal amounts of the poison tetrodotoxin in its organs, especially the liver, the ovaries, and the eyes whereas skin is usually non-poisonous.

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Porcupine fish. (Diodon nicthemerus)

Nudibranch Chromodoris magnifica can reach a maximum size of 5 cm length. It is so named because of this nudibranch’s striking, vibrant orange and blue colours.

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Chromadoris magnifica nudibranch

Bryaninops yongei, the wire-coral goby or whip coral goby has a semi-transparent head and body The fish is approximately 3 to 3.5 centimeters long usually live in pairs in association with the wire coralspecies Cirrhipathes anguina (Antipathidae) at depths of between 3 to 45 metres (9.8 to 147.6 ft). These pairs are usually male-female pairs. They move extremely fast and because of their transparency, they are extremely difficult to photograph.

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Wire goby or whip-coral goby (Bryaninops yongei)

Spirobranchus giganteus, commonly known as Christmas tree worms. The multicolored spirals are highly derived structures for feeding and respiration.

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Christmas tree worms. (Spirobranchus giganteus)

Scorpaena scrofa, common name the red scorpionfish, Bigscale scorpionfish, or large-scaled scorpion fish can achieve a maximum weight of approximately 3 kilograms. It can grow to a maximum length of 50 centimeters, but is commonly around 30 cm.

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Red Scorpion fish. (Scorpaena scrofa)

It has 12 dorsal spines, 9 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, and 5 soft rays. It is predatory, feeding on other fish, as well as crustaceans and mollusks.

Scorpionfish are coveted by most Europeans as a precious, even essential, ingredient to traditional bouillabaisse. It is for this dish that they are generally most sought. Their poisonous spines can be removed by cutting them off with kitchen shears, although whole cooking effectively denatures their venom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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