jonmcclintock:
The ox heart ascidians (Polycarpa aurata) had a very unnatural look to them: bright purple and yellow, with a waxy/glassy sheen
jonmcclintock:
The banded snake eel (Myrichthys colubrinus) mimicks the much more poisonous yellow-lipped sea krait
jonmcclintock:
Feather stars, like this robust feather star (Himerometra robustipinna) were a common sight in the reef
jonmcclintock:
The gorgonian wrapper anemone (Nemanthus annamensis) makes its home on gorgonians, a kind of coral fan
jonmcclintock:
A six armed brittle star (Ophiothela dannae)
jonmcclintock:
An amberfish sea cucumber (Thelenota anax)
jonmcclintock:
In some areas these yellow sea cucumbers (Colochirus robustus) were everywhere
jonmcclintock:
The Lampert's sea cucumber (Synaptula lamperti) where especially active, searching around for things to eat
jonmcclintock:
This spindle cowrie (Phenacovolva sp.?) lives on a wire coral about the thickness of a noodle
jonmcclintock:
The spaghetti worm (Loimia medusa) lives burrowed into the rock. It extends a number of tentacles that are groved like rain gutters and lined with cilia, which move collected debris up towards the mouth
jonmcclintock:
The variable thorny oyster (Spondylus varians) has a toothy grin
jonmcclintock:
Fluted giant clam (Tridacna squamosa), about a foot across.
jonmcclintock:
The giant clam (Tridacna gigas) are the largest bivalves in the world; this one was probably 4 feet long!
jonmcclintock:
This baby octopus was the size of a grape, and was getting blown all around on the sand
jonmcclintock:
A day octopus (Octopus cyanea), hiding in its den
jonmcclintock:
Dwarf cuttlefish (Sepia bandensis)
jonmcclintock:
Here you can see the blue spots on the fin that let you know it's a dwarf cuttlefish (Sepia bandensis)
jonmcclintock:
The broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) is rather large...about the size of a football
jonmcclintock:
Another broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus)
jonmcclintock:
Cuttlefish have very interesting eyes, including this broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus)
jonmcclintock:
This juvenile ornate ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) was blowing around in the current
jonmcclintock:
Banded pipefish (Doryrhamphus dactyliophorus) almost always come in pairs, but are really shy about being photographed
jonmcclintock:
An older ornate ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus)
jonmcclintock:
Brown banded pipefish (Corythoichthys amplexus)
jonmcclintock:
Brown banded pipefish (Corythoichthys amplexus)
jonmcclintock:
Pipefish (Corythoichthys sp.)
jonmcclintock:
Let's play a game; it's called "spot the pygmy seahorse" (Hippocampus bargibanti). It's about an inch long, and loves to hide in fan gorgonians.
jonmcclintock:
Ok, this one's a little easier. Can you see the pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) peeking out through the coral?
jonmcclintock:
Getting closer to the pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti)
jonmcclintock:
This one's a slightly different species (Hippocampus denise)
