Sea pens (Pennatulacea).
Sea fans (Gorgonacea).
Onyx cowries (Cypraea onyx).
About 4 cm long, could it be an Onyx cowrie as well?
Two Melo melo spotted by Ria. Quite interesting to see a smaller one riding on the ass end of the larger one.
Compared to a human hand for scale. The larger one estimated to be around 23 cm long.
Not quite sure what is happening here.
Incredibly camouflaged decorator crab (Camposcia retusa) spotted by Ivan.
Another pair of decorator crabs.
Sponge crab (Dromiidae).
Holothuria scabra.
Salmacis sp..
Pencil urchin (Prionocidaris sp.).
Nepanthia belcheri. My first time seeing these sea stars.
Quite a few of these knobbly sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus) around.
Astropecten sp..
Cake sea stars (Anthenea aspera).
Spiny sea star (Gymnanthenea laevis). My first time seeing this star.
Kok Sheng spotted this rather beautiful sea jelly.
Ball soft coral (Nephtheidae). I saw less than 5 of these.
Numerous swimming anemones (Boloceroides mcmurrichi) to be seen. They could be found attached to almost everything from sand to hydroids.
Dofleinia sp..
Actinostephanus haeckeli spotted by quite a few people. Today we had a brave soul who touched the body column of this reputedly painful-stinging anemone and did not get stung. Perhaps someday we will have an even braver soul willing to try the tentacles?
Toadfish.
Kok Sheng spotted this Dendrodoris fumata.
Discodoris boholiensis.
Polybranchia orientalis. My first time seeing this slug. The cerata are very sticky and come off readily (autotomy, a defensive strategy) when disturbed.
Many active brittlestars (Ophiurida) could be seen at daybreak.
Moray eel.
The stinging white hydroids. They were very plentiful.
Quite interesting to see this pygmy squid hiding among the hydroids.
Daybreak.
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