Lembeh’s Spookiest Critters

Halloween is coming and along with that all the creepy ghouls and goblins, princesses and cowboys will soon be knocking on your door asking for candy. But divers at Lembeh Resort won’t have to ask “trick or treat,” because here you can have them both. Here’s our top three pick of spooky critters for this month – all of them make great underwater photography subjects for underwater photographers.

Many of the weird and wacky underwater inhabitants of the Lembeh Strait seem tailor-made to fulfil Halloween fantasies like the beautiful but deadly blue-ringed octopus whose trick is to flash bright blue rings all over its body when agitated. It may be one of our smaller octopus species but be warned – look but don’t touch because these little guys (maximum 10cm long with arms extended) can pack a deadly punch.

Especially appropriate for the Halloween season is the mimic octopus; a master of disguise. This octopus, which grows to about 40 cm, will toss on a new costume in seconds and it can impersonate any number of other species from animals such as lionfish and sea snakes to flounders.

Finally, the sargassum frogfish is a critter which wears his costume all year round, posing as a piece of seaweed floating on the water’s surface. It’s a real trick to find one of these small fish which blend in so perfectly with their surroundings but it’s a trick to find one of these small fish, which blend in so perfectly with their surroundings, but it’s a real treat if you do.

Author : Rebecca Strauss