Photo Hunters : Rare
Well in keeping with Underwater Marine Life, for me these are rare. There are more than 3000 over species of this and some have’t been named as yet. Nudibranchs, also known as sea slugs, are some of the most beautiful and diverse creatures in the ocean.
Nudibranchs are essentially snails without shells, and their name literally means “naked gill”. In most species, the gills are prominently displayed on their dorsal surface.Some kinds of nudibranchs have a tuft of gills located on their backs at the posterior end, which are used only for respiration. Other kinds of nudibranchs have many finger-like structures on their backs called cerata, which function for gas exchange and often defense. Sea slugs have a pair of tentacles (called rhinophores) located on top of their heads, which biologists believe are used as sensory organs to assist in finding food and seeking a mate. The bright colouration seen in many species is believed to warn potential predators that the nudibranchs contain distasteful or even toxic compounds. Many of the dorid nudibranchs (Suborder Doridacea) are strongly scented, which is thought to be a chemical anti-predator warning.
But above all, this particular marine life is probably even more rare. Once was thought to be only found in Manado, Sulawesi, now can be found in various areas with difficulty. The problem is that it has an excellent camouflage method and is also very small, maximum length is 2cm. They are only found on gorgonians (sea fans) of the genus Muricella, in depths of 16-40m.
Can you see it?
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A close-up
The Pygmy Seahorse
Well, if you can spot it - you have great eye sight. Otherwise, tell me, I will circle it for you later!
Enjoy!
April 29th, 2007 at 11:50 am
wow.these r quality rare commercial quality pics.wow.thanks for sharing
April 29th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Thanks Bb
April 29th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Thanks for the link. i hope to read yr blog more often
April 29th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
What terrific shots! And thanks for the pygmy seahorse, faraway and closeup. Thanks to the closeup I could find it.
Isn’t Mother Nature amazing?
April 29th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
These are terrific shots! And yes, I found the Pygmy Seahorse! Great pictures for this week’s theme!
April 29th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Thanks
April 29th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Those photos are gorgeous! My favorite is the nudibranch - it looks like a little flower.
April 29th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Being a girl, ahem, woman*… I found the pink nudibranch to be the prettiest of all. I love the pink with the orange together. So bright and pretty. You take wonderful photographs.
* I don’t think you can get away with calling yourself a girl when you’re forty-one, sadly enough.
April 30th, 2007 at 1:48 am
George, these are incredible. I’ll bet you’ve got a million more you could have posted. I checked yesterday and thought you weren’t posting this week. Glad I came back to check again.
jmb
April 30th, 2007 at 3:59 am
What cool pix! I never knew there was such a thing.
Mine’s up too
April 30th, 2007 at 6:33 am
My 7y/o daughter ask me there really a mermaid? I told her I have to check with Uncle George! So Uncle George, apa maciam?
April 30th, 2007 at 7:34 am
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Great photos of the marine creatures. This is so cool! Really makes me want to go scuba diving leh! See lah! You make me have another desire! hehehe….
April 30th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
i hate to disappoint your daughter but i have a suggestion, she could be the mermaid in my pictures one day.
i am glad to have aroused such desires within you, ECL. hehehehe.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
That is totally amazing! Obviously, they have to lose that “sea slug” name because slugs here on land are ugly. My favorite was the black & white one. But the orange one reminds me of a laughing dog!
May 1st, 2007 at 4:33 pm
thanks meeyauw. Laughing dog? Hmmmm.
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Wow, these are really beautiful. You are lucky to have the opportunity to take photos such as this. I’ll have to read more of your blog and see other posts you may have made on diving.
Thanks for visiting my Photo Hunters. I’m rather behind on my visiting, but am really enjoying “catching up”.
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:50 am
Fuyohhh! Dem good! Are the seahorses the ones with the tails twirled around the branches. They’re camouflaged?
I thought you said “op”… Now i realised it’s “up”. Kakaka.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Hi Alice, thanks for visiting.
Yes Bernard, they are camouflaged.