Pom-Poms Come to Lembeh – It is not a title I ever thought I would use, but it happened this week! Check out this beautiful example of a Lybia tessellata, more commonly known as a Pom-Pom Crab or Boxer Crab, captured by our guests, Victor and Lynn.
It is easy to see how they got their name – note the two anemones the crab is grasping in its front pair of claws? They look remarkably like a pair of pom-poms. The anemones are carried for defense – if attacked, the crab will threaten the aggressor with the anemones. It makes feeding difficult for the crab though, so they use the anemones to gather food particles, which the crab then removes and eats.
Don’t worry about the anemone going hungry – the crab has a vested interest in keeping them alive and healthy. It is an example of mutualism – “the way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other.” Mutualism (biology).
A great week of critter spotting – Blue Ringed Octopus, Spiny Tiger Shrimps, Zebra Urchin Crab, Dragon Shrimps, a Giant Frogfish in its yellow phase, Tiger Mantis Shrimp, a Chlamydatus Moray, Banded Sea Krait and hundreds more critters that don’t get a mention. What’s your favourite critter? Let us know in the comments on this blog on our Facebook page, and we will try and bring a lucky reader a blog on “your” critter next week!
We had the pleasure of teaching Lesley her Advanced Open Water course. Five dives make up the course – Deep and Navigation dives (they are compulsory), plus Lesley chose Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy (highly recommended for newer divers, or ones returning after a long hiatus), topped off with a dive on Lembeh’s beautiful wreck.
Commonly known as the Mawali Wreck – she lies close to Mawali village on Lembeh – her real name is Sekino Maru. She will be the focus of a future blog.
Guests from USA, Switzerland, The Netherlands, China and Canada all called Two Fish Divers Lembeh home this week. All the staff were sad to see our long term guests, Victor and Lynn, check out and head back home.
Happy bubbles!
