So you may have heard that Lembeh is commonly known as the Muck Diving Capital of the World but what is the Holy Grail of Muck Diving? Rhinopia.
Rhinopias are a type of scorpionfish which steal the show no matter where they are found. The level of excitement people has when you talk about seeing one is all you need to know about these creatures to make you curious about what they are.
In Lembeh, while we have some of the rarest creatures in the world on a common occasion, it is a truly special moment when a Rhinopia is found. Fortunately this week we were lucky enough to have such an occurrence.
It didn’t take long before everyone in the resort knew that a Rhinopia had been found in Lembeh. It was the only thing people were talking about at lunch. It didn’t matter that they had also seen a wunderpus, ornate ghost pipefish, incredible nudis, and coconut octopus. All they wanted to talk about was the Rhinopia.
The last Rhinopia was found in Lembeh almost 2 years ago so it is no wonder that the guests who checked in that afternoon wanted to go for a night dive to try and find this elusive character again. We found it and the excitement level was no less than in the morning!
The Rhinopia we found was only a juvenile but still no less special. Also, if there is a juvenile around then that must mean there are at least 2 adults too…it’s just a case of finding them!
Unfortunately, on our last visit to the dive site, it could not be found again but that won’t stop us looking! Perhaps this one sighting means conditions are changing and bringing more to the area. Rhinopia tends to live quite deep so maybe the parents are hanging around at 30+ meters. We will have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the conditions are favorable!
Along with this incredibly rare and special find we have also had blue ring octopus mating, coconut octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, mimi octopus and wunderpus this week (as well as the rest!)
