Monthly Archives: January 2019

Whitemargin Stargazer Fish

January 9, 2019Fishes, Macro, Marine Life, PhotographyDangerous, Dumaguete, Macro, Nikon D500, Philippines, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

WhitemMargin Stargazer - Uranoscopus sulphureus — Whitemargin Stargaser look’n up at ya

Whitemargin Stargazer fish – Uranoscopus sulphureus – Stargazers are not a fish to mess with. They have double-grooved poison spines behind the operculum and above the pectoral fins and wounds can be quite serious. Stargazer possess electric organs located in a specialized pouch behind the eyes and can discharge up to 50 volts, depending on the temperature of the water at the time! Because stargazers are ambush predators which camouflage themselves and some can deliver both venom and electric shocks, they have been called “the meanest things in creation”. The fish is often locally known as the mother-in-law fish.

Inhabits reef flats but is rarely seen because it lies buried in the bottom most of the time, with only the eyes showing. When buried, the cirri on the edge of the mouth serve to keep out the sand during respiration. The oral lure is used to attract the prey within striking range of the mouth.

This little fellow was only about 15cm long but they get to a maximum length of 45.0 cm.

Etymology: Uranoscopus: Greek, ouranos = sky + Greek skopein = to watch

Spider Decorator Crab

January 9, 2019Crabs & Shrimps - Arthropoda, Invertebrates, Macro, Marine Life, PhotographyDumaguete, Macro, Nikon D500, Philippines, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

Spider Decorator Crab – Camposcia retusa –
The choice of noxious or stinging organisms as decorations implies that attaching them provides protection from predators by aposematism (warning) rather than by crypsis (camouflage), and there is direct observational evidence for this, e.g. that octopuses in tanks avoided decorated crabs. The relationship of crab and organisms such as sea anemones used as decoration may be mutualistic, offering protection to the crab and food to the anemone.

The crab tears a piece of adornment in its claws, chews it, and then rubs it firmly on its body until it catches on the “Velcro-like hooked setae”, curved hairs which permit camouflage materials to be attached. The carefully chosen decoration is supplemented by cryptic behavior, such as remaining still by day, and freezing when predators approach.

Yellow Barred Jawfish

January 9, 2019Fishes, Macro, Marine Life, PhotographyDumaguete, Macro, Nikon D500, Philippines, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

Yellowbarred – Tiger – Gold specs jawfish, Opistognathus randalli
Found singly with just his head showing in rock lined burrows on sand and rubble areas. They feed mainly on benthic crustaceans, invertebrates and zooplankton.

Jawfish are usually found in self-constructed burrows with just the head showing waiting for their prey, they have huge mouths for the size of head.
After mating the males incubate the eggs in their mouths!

Dancing Chinese Dragon

January 8, 2019Invertebrates, Macro, Marine Life, Photography, PolychaetesDumaguete, Macro, Nikon D500, Philippines, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

The Golden Fireworm – Chloeia flava – #PolychaeteA segmented #bristleworm belonging to the family #Amphinomidae. They have an elongated body made of 37 visible segments, each of them has a distinctive ocelli (simple eye), which is purple or dark color with a white outline and placed in the middle of the upper side. Small gills are present on both external side of the back just before the bristles and on almost all the segments.The body is covered laterally with calcareous spines or setae, they have bristle aspect which are whitish, fine, sharp and venomous.

Candy Crab

January 8, 2019Crabs & Shrimps - Arthropoda, Invertebrates, Macro, Marine Life, PhotographyDumaguete, Ikelite housing, Nikon D500, Philippines, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

Candy Crab – Hoplophrys oatesi – A very colorful crab that grows from 1.5 to 2 cm. It lives on various species of soft coral in the #Dendronephthya genus. It camouflages itself by mimicking the colors of the polyps among which it hides. It adds further camouflage by attaching polyps to its carapace. Colors vary depending on the color of the coral, and may be white, pink, yellow or red.

The first pair of legs of this species has small claws. The body has pointed spines with a red and white pattern, similar in appearance to the host coral.

Dwarf Cuttlefish

January 8, 2019Cuttlefish, Invertebrates, Macro, Marine Life, Mollusks, PhotographyDumaguete, Macro, Nikon D500, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

Stumpy Cuttlefish – Dwarf Cuttlefish – Sepia bandensis
This weird and wonderful cuttlefish is not actually a fish but is in fact a mollusk. They have an internal shell (cuttlebone), amazing large W-shaped pupils, eight arms and two tentacles which they use for feeding.

This little fellow was smooth a few moments before and then bumped himself up changed color from almost white to this tan, a true ‘chameleon of the sea’.

On the Right Side…

January 8, 2019Invertebrates, Macro, Marine Life, Mollusks, Photography, Sea SlugDumaguete, Muck Diving, Nikon D500, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

Oooh! A Side-gilled slug – Pleurobranchus forskalii – gills are found on the right side of the body in the gap between the mantle and the foot. This relatively large pleurobranch is often found in quite large populations in shallow lagoons, reef crests and pools and sea grass beds.

Funeral Nudibranch

January 8, 2019Invertebrates, Macro, Marine Life, Mollusks, Nudibranch, PhotographyDumaguete, Macro, Nikon D500, Philippines, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

The Funeral Nudibranch – Jorunna funebris, gets is name from the black and white coloration. It feeds on a blue sponges (Neopetrosia sp.), which makes it poisonous, and able to secrete chemicals that make them distasteful or toxic.

As a members from the family Discodorididae they are able to retract its gills into a gill pocket. Many species are able to break off part of their mantle to distract predators. They generally have a narrow foot compared to the wide mantle skirt.

Nature %&#* rocks!

January 8, 2019Crabs & Shrimps - Arthropoda, Invertebrates, Macro, Marine Life, PhotographyDumaguete, Ikelite housing, Nikon D500, Philippines, UnderwaterPhotograpyJon Buchheim

Halimedia Crab - Huenia heraldica — I blend in

Introducing Huenia heraldica, the Halimeda Crab. Its ability to camouflage in Halimeda algae (duh!) is nothing short of remarkable.
Halimeda algae is a smart object to mimic since very few organisms enjoy dining on this hard algae.

This species is a decorator crab; It sometimes attaches rigid fronds of halimeda algae to its rostrum in front of the eyes to enhance its camouflage.

The Devil Scorpion Fish

January 8, 2019Fishes, Macro, Marine Life, PhotographyDumaguete, Night Dive, Nikon D500, PhilippinesJon Buchheim

The Devil Scorpion Fish – Scorpaenopsis diabolus, the false stonefish is a carnivorous ray-finned fish. It has venomous spines and is a bottom-dwelling predator that relies on its camouflage to catch passing prey. The inner sides of the broad pectoral fins have orange, black, and white blotches and the fins can be “flashed” as a warning.

Originally spotted using an ultra-violet light. They exhibit biofluorescence, that is, when illuminated ultraviolet light, it re-emits it as red, and appears differently than under white light.
Biofluorescence may assist in intraspecific communication and camouflage.

A face a mother may not love. They always scares the crap out of me when I see one, especially when they crawl around on their ventral fins.
JON bUCHHEIM

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