November Critter summary

November has definitely been the month of the Blue Ring. Having remained difficult to find since I’ve been here, they have been everywhere this month.

All the guests this month have seen them multiple times on multiple sites. We’ve seen them searching for mates, eating and, of course, mating. Even though they have a reputation of being one of the most deadly critters in the world, it’s worth remembering that their poison does not actually kill you. the poison just (just!!) paralyzes your voluntary muscles. This means that even though you can move any part of your body and your lungs stop working, this doesn’t necessarily mean the end, as you heart keeps beating. If someone gives you mouth-to-mouth, after about 20 minutes you are fine!! Not a theory I want to test!! And it’s also important to remember that they are completely non-aggressive and do not ever ‘attack’ you. Leave them alone, and they will return the curtsey.

So below is my monthly chart of our sightings, As always, a great month. It’s been good to see some Rhinopias. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the different types of Pygmy Seahorses, with many different colours of Bargabantis, yellow, red, pink and green. The Denise was found on a few sites, as were the Pontohis. And we got our Bargabantis back on the House Reef after an absence of a month.

Many many crustaceans. They come in so many different shapes, colours and sizes, from the tiny Hairy Shrimp to large sponge Decorator Crabs and huge Hermit Crabs in Triton Shells.

There have been many Frogfish on display, including a very rare sighting of a Randall’s Frogfish that Ade found.

It never ceases to amaze me just how many different critters there are in Lembeh. I just got back from a week off and did a little diving in Bunaken and Buyat. They are both beautiful places to dive, with fantastic visibility , great walls, lots of lovely reef fish and a nice change from Lembeh. But when diving there I always found myself looking under ledges, on hydroids, in sponges, in crinoids, expecting to see small crustaceans or little weird fish and they just do not seem to exist, or at least not with the huge variety you get in Lembeh. Even though the vis is not usually that good here, there is just so much life everywhere. Hour long dives just seem to fly by. I am most definitely hooked to muck diving.

This week’s video clip is of a Porcelain Crab, always a photographers favourite.

Click to view in HD in a new window

These crabs are interesting, not only because of the way they feed, by waving adapted mouth parts in the current to gather their food, but because they are not actually crabs at all. They are instead related to Squat Lobsters, but have evolved to resemble true crabs.

They get their name as they are very delicate and often shed limbs to escape predators. Their large claws are used for territorial fights.

Till next week…..