Scuba Diver Ocean Planet Issue 2/2016 | Page 102

9 BUMBLEBEE SHRIMP

Image © Mike Bartick

This beautiful little shrimp resembles a bumblebee with its
yellow and black stripes and strangely truncated, flat face.
It seldom swims, preferring to rummage around undercover
among rubble and debris. It does not venture far from its habitat
so can usually be found by knowledgeable dive guides globally in
tropical lagoons and reefs.

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Discovered as recently as 1998 in Sulawesi,
Indonesia, this is one of the all time “wishlist” critters on any exotic muck dive. It is
surprisingly small, growing to a length of 60cm
including arms. Its “party trick” is being able
to change its skin, colour and texture to blend
in with the environment and/or mimic other
species to avoid or intimidate predators.

Image © Gill McDonald

MIMIC OCTOPUS

11

CANDY CRAB (SOFT CORAL CRAB)

SDOP

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10 HAIRY SHRIMP

The hairy shrimp is so tiny it is difficult to discern with the naked
eye, resembling nothing more than a dot of algae. An adept dive
guide can gently sweep the algae growth on a coral reef to find
one. It can be in a variety of colours to blend in with its home.
The one pictured is carrying eggs in its tail area.

Image © Gill McDonald

Image © Gill McDonald

This adorable little crustacean lives amongst the
colourful spikes of Dendronephthya soft coral.
It attaches polyps from the coral to its carapace
to improve its camouflage, which is already
impressive as it mimics the colours of the coral
in which it lives. These are normally pink, white,
yellow or red. SDOP