Rare Rhino

Two Rhinopias right next to one another, you can kind of make out the second ones silhouette in the background. Special thanks to Dénnis Cörpuz for helping us to see this crazy looking creature.

Batangas Sunset

My wife and I spent every morning and evening of our time in Anilao watching the sun rise and fall over the calm ocean there.

Coleman Shrimp

This pair of Coleman shrimp enjoy the comfort and protection of the fire urchin in which they make their home. The larger of the two is the female, and while the fire urchin doesn’t benefit from the shrimp, the shrimps enjoy the protection of poisonous spines.

Big Fin Reef Squid

Squid 2

Squid

Shaun the Sheep w/ Eggs

Costasiella kuroshimae - also much more commonly known as Shaun the Sheep (look up the cartoon character) is seen here with a spiral of eggs. This slug is about the size of a grain of rice.

Purple Tips

Here is the colorful Janolus savinkini also known as the purple-tipped Janolus.

Reticulidia halgerda

Areadoris averni

his is one of my favorites from the series, Areadoris averni.

Chromodoris dianae

Hermit eyes

Bob Tail Battle Mode

These little bobtail squid were pretty common sightings on our night dives in Anilao. Most of the time we would find them completely buried in the sand, with only their eyes poking out. The real show was when you got lucky enough to find them out, and not buried. When threatened by you, they would curl all 10 of their arms to try and look fierce. A brave act for an organism about the size of your thumb. One more cool fact, these squid have a bioluminescent bacteria that lives inside their tissues to help them camouflage themselves by obstructing their shadow.

Bobtail

Peeking out

The incredible Coconut Octopus. While in Anilao, we spent 2 night dives in the shallows of the town pier watching the behavior of these incredibly smart creatures. They use their tentacles to wrap themselves in shells for protection and ambush prey. If you bring them a shell and place it near them, they will slowly unfurl a single tentacle to analyze if they think its a good new home. If they like your gift, they will happily pick it up, adding it to their armor.

All the shells

The incredible Coconut Octopus. While in Anilao, we spent 2 night dives in the shallows of the town pier watching the behavior of these incredibly smart creatures. They use their tentacles to wrap themselves in shells for protection and ambush prey. If you bring them a shell and place it near them, they will slowly unfurl a single tentacle to analyze if they think its a good new home. If they like your gift, they will happily pick it up, adding it to their armor.

Topped

The incredible Coconut Octopus. While in Anilao, we spent 2 night dives in the shallows of the town pier watching the behavior of these incredibly smart creatures. They use their tentacles to wrap themselves in shells for protection and ambush prey. If you bring them a shell and place it near them, they will slowly unfurl a single tentacle to analyze if they think its a good new home. If they like your gift, they will happily pick it up, adding it to their armor.

Ghost of Anilao

Ghost Pipefish float just above the sea floor, with their mouth facing downwards. Their coloring and texture make them nearly impossible to see against their surroundings as they feed on tiny crustaceans sucked through their long snout. Because they blend in so well, in post processing I chose a background effect that would bring out its intricate details.

Leaf Scorpionfish

A backlit leaf scorpionfish. Jason Cedric Apostol helped out with this one, illuminating the fish from behind with his torch as I snapped this shot.

Dragon Shrimp

Clownfish Eyes

A male clownfish cleaning fertilized eggs. Each family of clownfish has a single reproducing female that lays eggs for the largest male to fertilize. If the female is killed or dies, the largest male will transition into a female taking her place, with the next largest male stepping into to fill his role.