ANIMALWATCH
When the Blue Ringed Octopus is agitated, the brown patches darken dramatically, and iridescent blue rings or clumps of rings appear and pulsate within the maculae. They hunt small crabs, hermit crabs, and shrimp, and may bite attackers, including humans, if provoked.
Female and male Thorny Seahorse along the sandy slopes of Dauin.
mouth where the fry are protected. By caring for their offspring in this way, mouthbrooding fish are able to produce smaller numbers of offspring with a higher chance of survival than species that offer no brood care. The male that cares for the eggs is not able to eat during this period. Now that’ s being a dedicated parent.
Nudibranchs are a kind of sea slug that live in the muck and on reefs, they are extremely colorful and divers will come here just to look at these bottom dwellers. Nu- dibranchs don’ t have eyes like us, they can only see light or dark hues and use their rhinophores( horns on their head) to smell the water column and look for prey or a mate. They get their name from the naked gill on their back( nudibranch in Latin means naked gill). Like most fish the nudibranch uses its colorful appearance to show predators that it’ s poisonous, making them less likely to reenter the food chain. Another fun fact about these creatures is that they are hermaphrodites, meaning they are male and female so every nudibranch can get pregnant, a very effective way of reproduction.
Seahorses are well represented in this area too. You can find them along rubble or anywhere where they can hold themselves with their tail. These fascinating creatures truly resemble a horse in the sea. With seahorses it’ s the male that carries the eggs in a pouch and gives birth to live young, sometimes 1,500 at a time.
Just the other day, a local guide told me he’ d been seeing the elusive Blue Ringed Octopus on a couple of dives, something I’ ve heard a lot of, but usually turns into a you-should’ ve-been-here-yesterday scenario.
Not to be outdone, I decided to follow him on a dive, looking over the sandy bottom and coral rubble it didn’ t look like we would find anything in this desert. Suddenly, my guide starts to franticly bang on his tank and signaling me to come over. He points at a small octopus looking just like the reef, and then all of a sudden the octopus starts flashing its blue rings to warn us of its poison and to let us know not to mess with him. It took me about 400 dives to see this fellow but it’ s worth every minute spent underwater.
So the next time you’ re diving in the muck, don’ t forget to ask your guide what it is you’ re seeing and what’ s so interesting about these animals. If you’ re patient and you’ re looking closely, a whole new world will open. •
Steve De Neef is a nature photographer / writer who has done over 1,000 dives in the Visayan region. He offers photo workshops all over the world and in PCCI Makati. A regular contributor to the popular website www. divephotoguide. com, his images have won awards in competitions such as Nature’ s Best, Ocean Art competition, Beneath the Sea and more. Currently, Steve resides in Bacong, Negros Oriental. More of his work can be seen at www. stevedeneef. com.
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