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Feather Star Squat Lobster

Allogalathea elegans

Description:

The body of A. elegans is 1.5–2 inches (38–51 mm) long, egg-shaped and striped. It is widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, where it lives among the tentacles of crinoids. The colour of the animals varies to match the species of crinoid with which it is commensal. Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allogalathe...

Notes:

A well camouflaged and tiny squat lobster on a feather star. Spotted in Secret Bay during a dusk/night dive. Depth of about 4m

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19 Comments

Eric Noora
Eric Noora 12 years ago

Thanks Ashley! :-)

Eric Noora
Eric Noora 12 years ago

Thanks Carol :-)

AshleyBradford
AshleyBradford 12 years ago

Very nice capture! I had to look hard to see the lobster. Great photos and sighting!

CarolSnowMilne
CarolSnowMilne 12 years ago

I never knew this existed. Thank you! Your photos are unique and special. :)

Eric Noora
Eric Noora 12 years ago

Thanks Atul :-)

Eric Noora
Eric Noora 12 years ago

Salamat alice and nath. Pag nandito kayo let me know. Sama kayo. Going to Apo Reef this January :-)

Atul
Atul 12 years ago

fantastic and congrats pal!

alice and nath
alice and nath 12 years ago

Congrats! Sama mo naman ako sa diving trips mo. :)

Eric Noora
Eric Noora 12 years ago

Thanks Darwin26. Yup it was really hard. Didn't actually know what my dive master/spotter was showing me then until it moved. Guess we can play a spot the crab game here :-)

Eric Noora
Eric Noora 12 years ago

Thanks Boyette :-)

Darwin26
Darwin26 12 years ago

Hard to tell the crinoid from from the crab, the Wiki link helps....

Good Share,

BoyetteFeliciano
BoyetteFeliciano 12 years ago

Nice work!

Eric Noora
Eric Noora 12 years ago

Whoa. Thanks guys! :-)

Chris Carille
Chris Carille 12 years ago

Congrats! Very neat Eric!

The MnMs
The MnMs 12 years ago

Congratulations, Eric!!

peter
peter 12 years ago

Spotting of the Day!

"Squat lobsters are actually crabs with long lobster-like arms. They are usually found among feather stars (crinoids), camouflaged by closely matching the color of their hosts."

http://facebook.com/projectnoah/posts/11...
http://twitter.com/projectnoah/status/13...

The MnMs
The MnMs 12 years ago

Wow! so well mimetized!

Eric Noora
Eric Noora 12 years ago

Thanks Karen :-)

KarenL
KarenL 12 years ago

Fantastic spot!

Eric Noora
Spotted by
Eric Noora

Batangas, Philippines

Spotted on Oct 30, 2011
Submitted on Nov 19, 2011

Spotted for Mission

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