Orgy in Lembeh!! (and January Critters)

I’m sure that got your attention!!!!

Spiny Devilfish usually, as one can guess from their highly camouflaged appearance, do not move very much.

I came across three of them in quite an excited state on a dive this week. There was one big one, the female, and two smaller ones, the males, and the males were obviously very excited about the female and kept chasing her around.

As she was moving around, escaping the attention of the two males, more male devilfish kept appearing out of nowhere!! First there was a third male joining the group, then a fourth and finally a fifth!!

They would all chase her around, then she would stop, they all pile on top of her then everyone stayed very still…until the female swam off again, and they all repeated their actions..it was an amazing bit of behaviour to watch and, again, something I had not seen before. Spring, though some of you may not believe it, is just around the corner, and the Lembeh Critters are getting geared up for the most important season of the year….

Click here to enjoy the video in a new window

Even though Barb and I are on a short vacation, we have, though the miracle of modern technology, managed to produce the January Critter List, and so you can see that below. A very good January indeed.

And the last week before I left was really excellent too. On one dive we found as Hairy Octopus, Harlequin Shrimp, Blue Ring Octopus, Halimeda Ghost Pipefish, Boxer Crab with eggs and a Solar Powered Nudi!!! I told the guests that that may as well go home!! But I was joking as there is, as ever, so much more to see. So as well as all the critters on that one dive, we also saw Mimic, Wonderpus, Coconut and Long Arm Octopus. There were Flamboyant, Pygmy and Broadclub Cuttlefish. We saw some Pink and Yellow Bargabantis, Denise and Pontohi Pygmies. The were Common, Estuary and Thorny Seahorses, as well as Ringed, Winged and Double End Pipefish. As well as the Harlequin Shrimp and Boxer Crab we also saw Tiger Shrimp, Bumble Bee Shrimp, Saron Shrimp, Paron Shrimp, Harlequin Crabs, Decorator Crabs, Crinoid Shrimp, Halimeda Crabs, Porcelain Crabs, Xenia Crabs, Xeno Crabs, Skeleton Shrimp, Orang Utan Crabs, Squat Shrimp, Hairy Squat Lobster, Elegant Squat Lobster, Rock Shrimp, Hairy Shrimp, Peacock Mantis, Golden Mantis, Tiger Mantis and many many more. The were also Ornate, Rough Snout, Velvet and Robust Ghost Pipefish, Helmut Gurnards, Fingered Dragonets, Cockatoo Waspfish, Ambon Scorpionfish, Pegasus Sea Moths and there were Painted, Giant, Hairy, Freckled and Warty Frogfish.

Thanks to all our lovely guests from the States, the UK, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore… see you all again in a couple of weeks…

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