Our guests, Jo and Paul took this great image of the incredibly beautiful Phylllodesmium longicirrum Nudibranch here in Lembeh. Looking just like a small piece of soft coral, this little Nudibranch is a real treat to find.
It’s commonly referred to as the Solar powered Phyllodesmium as it draws its energy from sunlight. Nudibranch feed on octocorals, which also provide them with a defensive compound which they use as protection against predators such as Fish, Crabs, Cephalopods, and Echinoderms. Phylllodesmium longicirrum lives on the soft coral they feed on, known as Sarcophyton trocheliophorum, as it also provides them with clever camouflage. They can quite often be mistaken for soft coral themselves!. This species can grow to up to 14 centimetres in size.
Lembeh is home to thousands of Nudibranch and the Phyllodesmium longicirrum is a favourite for all of our avid photographer guests. You can find these guys shallow or as deep as 20 meters and are seen at almost every dive site in Lembeh.
We had a great Christmas here in Lembeh with most of our guests being return guests which was really lovely. Jo, Chris, Kim, Nicole, Yvette, and Gina were all here to celebrate Christmas day with us. Along with our ‘regulars’ we also had Liz, Ian, Michal and Matt and Ian all from the UK.
Mark has been busy this week with two more Divemaster Candidates finishing off their courses. Michal and Ian were kept busy with the final skills and workshops for the PADI Divemaster course. They both did really well and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
Life underwater this week in Lembeh has been all about the Cephalopods. Our guests have been seeing Blue Ringed Octopus, Mimic, Coconut Octopus and Wunderpus on most dives! We are at the beginning of our wet season here, however, the rain has been holding off for the evenings, leaving us beautiful sunny days!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us in Lembeh!