Philippines Photo Gallery: Puerto Galera: muck diving

We took an underwater photography trip to the Philippines in December 2016. The "muck" (mud, sand, sediment, dead coral rubble) is the habitat of unusual and juvenile organisms, a different ecology than the reef.

Crabs:

crab in tube anemone Harlequin swimming crab, Lissocarcinus laevis

zebra crab zebra crab on urchin Zebra crab, Zebrida adamsii, on fire urchin, Asthenosoma varium

Fish:

sea moths Sea moth (little dragonfish), Eurypegasus draconis

??? Yellow shrimp goby, Cryptocentrus cinctus

shrimp goby with shrimp Slantbar shrimp goby, Amblyeleotris diagonalis

flounder Blackspotted sole, Aseraggodes melanostictus

clownfish in anemone Bridled anemonefish, Amphiprion frenatus

??? Fringed dragonet, Dactyloptus dactyloptus

ocean catfish Convict blenny, Pholidichthys leucotaenia

??? Colombo damsel, Pomacentrus proteus

??? Yellowtail sandperch, Parapercis sp.

??? Parapercis sp.

??? Parapercis sp.

??? Parapercis sp.

??? Common ghostgoby, Pleurosicya mossambica

??? Freckled goatfish, Upeneus tragula

??? Striped triplefin, Helcogramma stratum

Juvenile blue blanquillo, Malacanthus latovittatus

Mantis shrimps:

mantis shrimp <TBS>

mantis shrimp Tiger mantis, Lysiosquilla maculata

mantis shrimp out Gonodactylus chiragra

Nudibranchs:

NOTE: We love nudibranchs, but we are not experts on these animals. If you find we have misidentified something or can identify one we coukd not, please email us and we will correct it.

??? Redline flabellina, Flabellina rubrolineata

??? ??? Serpent ptaraeolidia (blue dragon), Ptaraeolidia ianthina; different coloration caused by the amount of zooxanthellae in the animal's digestive ducts

??? Sky-blue phyllidia, Phyllidia coelestis

??? Pilsbryl's philinopsis, Philinopsis pilsbryi

??? Painted thecacera, Thecacera picta

??? Chromodoris elizabethina

??? Funeral jorunna, Jorunna funebris

??? Chromodoris reticulata

??? Loch's chromodoris, Chromodoris lochi

??? Glossodoris cincta

Other animals:

coral Mushroom coral, Fungia (Cycloseris) somervillei

sea pen Sea pen, Virgularia sp.

tunichates Gold-mouth seq squirt, Polycarpa aurata

eggs Egg veil, <TBS>

squid Stumpy-spined cuttlefish, Sepia bandensis

seahorse seahorse seahorse seahorse Thorny seahorse, Hippocampus hystrix

Shrimps:

commensal shrimp Magnificent anemone shrimp, Ancylomenes magnificus

red-lined shrimp Orange cleaner shrimp, Lysmatella prima

popcorn shrimp Popcorn shrimp (Ambonian shrimp), Thor amboinensis

white-headed shrimp White-headed shrimp, Periclimenes kororensis

sea whip shrimp Black coral shrimp, Pontonides unciger

shrimp Commensal shrimp, Vir philippinensis, on anchor coral, Euphyllia ancora

fan worm Feather-duster worm, Sabellastarte indica

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Last modified 31 October 2024