Special Critters of Raja Ampat

One of the joys of scuba diving various locations in the world is seeing other types of critters. I saw lots of different ones in Raja Ampat that I've never seen before.

One was a sea slug/nudibranch type of critter above that I've never seen before. It looked like a nudibranch except it didn't have any of the distinct characteristics such as the two rhinophores. Maybe it was nibbed by another critter???

I saw another strange critter called the crocodile fish which I learned is a member of the scorpion fish family so don't touch, just look cause they are venomous!

We also found various types of pygmy seahorses. One that I never saw before and found during this trip was one called the "santa claus" pygmy seahorse. I tried to photograph this guy but he wouldn't cooperate, so getting his backside was the best I could do.

One of my favorites was the bumphead napolean wrasse. During one of our dives, we spotted a family of four nibbling at the coral. I was fortunate to get a shot of one of them.

Other favorite critters included a front view shot of a ribbon eel

And this seemingly invisible sea pen shrimp which really blends in with its environment.

I also saw the usual suspects like a hawksbill turtle, blennies, clown fish and more.
Check them out here.

So cool, eh?