Sometimes there are no "cool" critters to be found. But there are almost always cool shapes. Here is a nice anemone with an "almost" snooted attempt.
Here is a nice little Hypselodoris apolegma from NAD in Lembeh. Found him at night, sitting on a stalk with nothing behind him so it was a chance to have a nice black background. There are a crap ton of hypselodoris that all look alike, and to tell them apart is tough. For example, from one paper: ‘The denticles of the radular teeth of H. brycei do not extend much beyond the middle of the primary cusp, whereas in H. apolegma they extend almost to the end of the cusp. The reproductive system of H. brycei has a much shorter penial papilla and long ejaculatory duct, whereas H. apolegma has a longer, wider penial bulb and a shorter ejaculatory duct.’
I didn't know there was an Ardeodoris but here is one, an Ardeodoris averni (I think) from Lembeh.
On our last trip to Indonesia we did a bunch of blackwater dives. Here is a nice little jelly from one of our better dives.
Here is a nice little nudibranch from Lembeh. This is often called a Pikachu (Thecacera sp). Here he is on a nice piece of coconut shell.
I don't shoot frogfish much unless they are really tiny but again, I am going back old school to things that should still get us excited. Here is a nice little (100 mm/4inch long) froggy from our recent Indonesia trip.
On a night black water dive in Lembeh earlier this year a little Rosy Frogfish was just swimming along. First time I have seen one or any froggy in black water.
Here is a nice little Hypselodoris iba laying some eggs. These are not well studied and the color variations of this guy are really amazing. Looking at the Gosliner book you would not guess this guy is the same as any of the other pics of the same species. For more info look at Reading between the lines: revealing cryptic speciesdiversity and colour patterns in Hypselodorisnudibranchs (Mollusca: Heterobranchia: Chromodorididae)
Today is unofficially give some one a hug day. So take a look at this neat Goniobranchus and go give someone you care about a hug. For no good reason other than you can.
Here is a pteropod of the Corolla variety from a black water dive in Lembeh.
Here is a nice little Thorunna florens, apparently discovered/collected in Sagami bay by the Emperor of Japan in 1949, right after the war. There are a zillion (technical term) color variations of this guy. Here he is on an old piece of wood that I found on the bottom of the bay in Lembeh (my brand new reconstructed stage did not make the trip to Indonesia, sadly).
In these unusual times, we could all use a smile. Here is a nice little triple spot blenny (in his mating colors no less). From Lembeh. Great haircut too.
In a fit of what to me seems complete insanity, there is an official genus of nudibranchs called unidentia. Unidentified but they have a species name. This one is Unidentia sandramillenae. I thought it was a flabellina but apparently not. The group may have been first identified by our friend Ali Hermosillo. In any case if you want more info read Bernard Picton's very long paper. Here he is sitting on a piece of wood found on the bottom of Lembeh bay.
Black water shooting is a pain in the you know where. Here is a classic "IF ONLY" shot. I saw this bit of stick floating by and took a couple of shots, but didn't spend the time to really see what was there. I thought when I shot it that it was a little fish so didn't pay attention. It turns out to be 2 pipefish hanging on to the stick. Clearly I should have spent a lot more time with this. Oh well, we will have to go back (I hope soon).
