{"id":17288,"date":"2009-05-20T01:06:13","date_gmt":"2009-05-20T01:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwphoto.onpressidium.com\/book\/critter-list\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T06:57:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T06:57:17","slug":"critter-list","status":"publish","type":"book","link":"https:\/\/www.uwphotographyguide.com\/book\/underwater-photography-guide\/marine-life\/critter-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Underwater Critter List"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the underwater critter list<\/strong> and online field guide of over 130 macro species that I used for Anilao, Philippine<\/a>, Bali and Lembeh, Indonesia for macro underwater photography. It is list of the most sought after underwater photo subjects in the Indo-Pacific region.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We found 90% or more of these critters in Anilao, and almost all are also found in Lembeh<\/a>, Sulawesi. This is also a great macro subject list for Mabul, Dumaguete, Ambon, Bali<\/a>, Papau New Guinea or any other muck diving<\/a> area in the Indo-pacific region.<\/p>\n

Photos by Scott Gietler unless otherwised mentioned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ornate\"peacock\"soft\"flamboyant<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Worms<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"bobbit<\/p>\n

Bobbit worm, Eunice aphroditois<\/a><\/p>\n

\"fire<\/p>\n

Fire Worm<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/h2>\n

Nudibranchs & Molluscs<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Phyllodesmium
Phyllodesmium rudmani, Xenia mimic nudibranch<\/p>\n

\"Marionia
Marionia species<\/p>\n

\"ceratosoma
Ceratosoma alleni, photo by Mike Bartick<\/p>\n

\"solar<\/p>\n

Solar-powered nudibranch. Photo by Larry Polster<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"solar<\/p>\n

Solar-powered nudibranch, Phyllodesmium longicirrum<\/em>. Anilao. Photo by Mike Bartick.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"swimming<\/p>\n

Swimming Clam, Bali<\/p>\n

\"electric<\/p>\n

Electric Clam, photo by Marli Wakeling<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shrimps and Crabs<\/h2>\n

\"mantis\"Gorlock<\/p>\n

Peacock mantis shrimp, gorlock mantis shrimp<\/p>\n

\"Bumblebee<\/p>\n

Bumblebee shrimp, very rare! (great find Peri!)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"colmani<\/p>\n

 Colmani shrimp, lives in pairs on fire urchins<\/p>\n

\"harlequin
Harlequin shrimp. Feeds on blue starfish.<\/p>\n

\"Anemone
Anemone shrimp<\/p>\n


bubble coral shrimp<\/p>\n

\"sexy
jumping shrimp, Thor amboinensis. Often waves its tail, sits outside anemones. Also called “Sexy shrimp”<\/p>\n

\"Imperial
Imperial shrimp, found on sea cucumbers and Spanish Dancers.<\/p>\n

\"crinoid
Crinoid shrimps, always found on a similar host featherstar<\/p>\n

\"Tozeuma
Donald duck shrimp, Leander plumosus<\/p>\n

\"tiger
Tiger shrimp, Bali<\/p>\n

\"Hairy
Hairy squat lobster (purple), Lauriea siagiani. Lives on Barrel sponges.<\/p>\n

\"Crinoid
Squat lobster (crinoid crab)<\/p>\n

\"xeno
Xeno crab, found on wire coral<\/p>\n

\"porcelain
porcelain crab<\/p>\n

\"Soft<\/p>\n

Soft coral crab<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Humpback prawn,  Metapenaeopsis lamellata<\/em>. I call it the evil shrimp.<\/p>\n

\"sawblade<\/p>\n

Sawblade Shrimp, Tozeuma species. By Jeff de Guzman<\/p>\n

\"saron<\/p>\n

Saron shrimp<\/p>\n

\"army<\/p>\n

Red Army Shrimp (Bali), Rhynchoinetes durbanensis<\/p>\n

\"harlequin<\/p>\n

Harlequin crab<\/p>\n

\"orangutang<\/p>\n

Orangutan crab<\/p>\n

\"slipper<\/p>\n

Slipper lobster, photo by Mike Bartick<\/p>\n

\"wire<\/p>\n

Wire-coral shrimp<\/p>\n

\"crab<\/p>\n

Zebra crab on fire urchin, Lembeh. Photo by Larry Polster<\/p>\n

\"boxer<\/p>\n

Boxer Crab, photo by Mike Bartick<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Squid, Octopus, Cuttlefish<\/h2>\n

\"reef<\/p>\n

Common Reef squid<\/p>\n

\"Bobtail
Bobtail squid<\/p>\n

\"pygmy
Pygmy (mimic) cuttlefish<\/p>\n

\"flamboyant
Flamboyant cuttlefish<\/p>\n

\"broadclub
broadclub cuttlefish<\/p>\n

\"pygmy
Pygmy cuttlefish<\/p>\n

\"cuttlefish<\/p>\n

large cuttlefish<\/p>\n

\"wonderpus
Wonderpus octopus<\/a><\/p>\n

\"coconut
Coconut octopus<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"mototi<\/p>\n

Mototi octopus, photo by Mike Bartick<\/p>\n

\"blue
Blue-ringed octopus<\/a>, photo by Mike Bartick<\/p>\n

\"blue-ring<\/p>\n

Another Blue-ringed octopus, from Raja Ampat. Photo by Kevin Lee<\/p>\n

\"Mimic
Mimic octopus<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Juvenile Fish<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Juvenile
juvenile longfin batfish<\/p>\n

\"juvenile<\/p>\n

Juvenile harlequn sweetlips<\/p>\n

\"juvenile
juvenile harlequin sweetlips, older stage<\/p>\n

\"juvenile<\/p>\n

juvenile oriental sweetlips<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"juvenile
juvenile spotted boxfish or pufferfish, very tiny<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"juvenile<\/p>\n

Juvenile Rockmover Wrasse from Kona, Hawaii<\/a>. Photo by Jeff Laity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Juvenile
juvenile catfish<\/p>\n

\"juvenile
juvenile lionfish<\/p>\n

\"juvenile
juvenile pinnate batfish<\/p>\n

\"juvenile
juvenile barrimundi<\/p>\n

\"juvenile<\/p>\n

juvenile ribbon eel. Juveniles are black, adult males blue, old females yellow.<\/p>\n

\"juvenile<\/p>\n

juvenile emporer angelfish<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/h2>\n

Fish<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Frogfish<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Hairy frogfish, a version of the Striated frogfish, Antennarius striatus. <\/em>Photo by Brent Durand<\/p>\n

\"frogfish,<\/p>\n

Frogfish, photo by Larry Polster<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"pianted<\/p>\n

Juvenile painted frogfish<\/p>\n

\"Painted<\/p>\n

Painted frogfish, Antennarius pictus, photo by Jeffrey de Guzman. Species often develop large scab like patches on body. This species has the ability to change almost any color including white, black, red, pink, orange, yellow and brown.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Warty<\/p>\n

Juvenile warty frogfish<\/p>\n

\"warty<\/p>\n

Warty frogfish.<\/p>\n

\"warty<\/p>\n

Warty frogfish, Antennarius maculatus. Photos by Jeffrey de Guzman. Juveniles frequently yellow with red-brown saddle and orange borders of rear dorsal and tail fins. Often in open sand.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Randall's<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Antennarius randalli, Randall’s Frogfish – Dark Phase. Photos by Jeffrey de Guzman<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Antennarius<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Antennarius coccineus, Freckled Frogfish.Photo by Jeffrey de Guzman.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seahorses<\/h3>\n

\"pygmy<\/p>\n

Pygmy seahorse, Hippocampus bargibanti<\/p>\n

\"thorny
yellow (thorny) seahorse<\/p>\n

\"giant
Giant seahorse of Anilao<\/p>\n

\"giant<\/p>\n

Another Giant Seahorse of Anilao<\/p>\n

\"yellow
Yellow pygmy seahorse, Hippocampus denise<\/p>\n

\"pipehorse\"<\/p>\n

Pipehorse, related to pipefish and seahorses<\/p>\n

\"lembeh<\/p>\n

New lembeh pipedragon, Kyonemichthys rumengani<\/em>. Photo by Marli Wakeling. Looks like a stick or algae.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pipefish<\/h3>\n

\"coral
coral banded pipefish<\/p>\n

\"sand
Sand pipefish<\/p>\n

Common pipefish (photo coming soon)<\/p>\n

\"robust
robust ghost pipefish<\/p>\n

\"ornate
Ornate ghost (harlequin) pipefish<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Juvenile ornate ghost pipefish, colors not defined yet<\/p>\n

\"Halimeda<\/p>\n

Halimeda ghost pipefish<\/p>\n

\"mushroom
Mushroom coral pipefish, Siokunichthys nigrolineatus<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rhinopias<\/h3>\n

Check out Mike Bartick’s great Rhinopia article<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"rhinopia
Rhinopia eschmeyeri<\/p>\n

\"Rhinopia
Rhinopia frondosa, Weedy Rhinopia<\/p>\n

\"lacy<\/p>\n

Rhinopia aphanes, Lacey Rhinopia. Photo by Larry Polster<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/h2>\n

Photogenic Fish<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"snake<\/p>\n

Snake Eel<\/p>\n

\"crocodile<\/p>\n

Crocodile snake eel (bites!)<\/p>\n

\"napolean<\/p>\n

Napolean snake eel<\/p>\n

\"garden<\/p>\n

Garden eel, very shy<\/p>\n

\"garden<\/p>\n

Garden eels, hard to approach<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"blue<\/p>\n

Male ribbon eel<\/p>\n

\"female<\/p>\n

female ribbon eel, lembeh. Rarely seen, the female is the last color stage of the Ribbon eel. Photo by Larry Polster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"wire<\/p>\n

Wire coral goby<\/p>\n

\"Fire<\/p>\n

Fire dartfish<\/p>\n

\"mimic<\/p>\n

Mimic Filefish, mimics a Toby. <\/p>\n

\"Jawfish\"
Jawfish<\/p>\n

\"underwater
Razorfish (shrimpfish)<\/p>\n

\"banggai<\/p>\n

Banggai Cardinalfish<\/p>\n

\"pajama<\/p>\n

Pajama cardinalfish, photo by Bill Van Antwerp<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"urchin<\/p>\n

Urchin clingfish, photo by Mike Bartick<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Convict blennies<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


Cometfish, juvenile<\/p>\n

\"leafy<\/p>\n

Leafy filefish<\/p>\n

\"soft<\/p>\n

Soft coral filefish, photo by Mike Bartick<\/p>\n

\"underwater<\/p>\n

Green algae filefish, found in shallow harbors<\/p>\n

\"scrawled
Scrawled filefish<\/p>\n

\"trunkfish\"<\/p>\n

Trunkfish<\/p>\n

\"spotted<\/p>\n

Spotted blue Boxfish<\/p>\n

\"yellow<\/p>\n

Yellow boxfish<\/p>\n

\"mandarin
Mandarin fish<\/p>\n

 <\/h3>\n

 <\/h3>\n

Camoflauged bottom-dwelling fish<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"dragonet\"<\/p>\n

Fingered Dragonet  from Anilao, Dactylopus dactylopus<\/em><\/p>\n

\"stargazer\"
Stargazer<\/p>\n

\"common<\/p>\n

Common Lionfish<\/p>\n

\"leaf<\/p>\n

Leaf scorpionfish<\/p>\n

\"twinspot<\/p>\n

Twin spot lionfish,photo by Marli Wakeling<\/p>\n

\"yellow<\/p>\n

Shortfin lionfish, Dendrochirus brachypterus<\/em>. Rare yellow variation. Photo by Mark Strickland<\/p>\n

\"crocofile<\/p>\n

Crocodile flathead<\/p>\n

\"stonefish<\/p>\n

Stonefish face, photo by Mike bartick<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"sanddiver<\/p>\n

Sanddiver, male displaying with 2 females of his harem<\/p>\n

\"pegasus
Pegasus sea moth, photo by Kevin Lee<\/p>\n

\"flying
Flying gurnard<\/p>\n

\"cuckatoo
Cuckatoo waspfish, Lembeh. Photo by Larry Polster<\/p>\n

\"devil
Devil scorpionfish<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ambon<\/p>\n

Ambon scorpionfish<\/p>\n

\"scorpionfish,<\/p>\n

Male ambon scorpionfish, lembeh. Photo by Larry Polster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Sea
Sea snakes, not to be confused with the similar Banded snake eel<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Further reading:<\/h3>\n