From the book "Bali Island", part 5 "East", episode 31.
8°30'29.81"S 115°31'8.07"E
Tanah Ampo – sea port in the East of Bali, large cruise ships come here from Singapore and Australia. But we are interested by the pier, there are a lot of unique characters under it.
We added to our collection such kind of nudibranchs :
Phyllidia multifaria Yonow | Chromodoris reticulate |
Jorunna finebris | Hypselodoris krakatoa |
Hypselodoris nigrostriata | Flabellina rubrolineata |
The pier is filled by fishermen in the evenings, they throw baits and sometimes fish guts into the water, and it attracts marine predators. Sea snakes, for example..
Sea snake - Hydrophiinae
Pipefish - tubular seahorses are not rare here.
Pipefish - Syngnathinae
Boxer shrimps – of cause, here you are..
Boxer shrimp
Harlequin mantis shrimp, it also called as luxurious mantis shrimp. Well, it is just beautiful :-)
Harlequin mantis shrimp - Odontodactylus scyllarus
Large cuttlefish, mollusks of the cephalopod class, is a desired catch for fishermen...
Cuttlefish - Sepiida
Monoceros or trigger fish (Monacanthidae). It is clear why they got their name – horn over the head is noticeable..
Filefish Stephanolepis hispidus | Filefish Acreichthys tomentosus |
Boxfishes, they are various, often they different from each other..
Papuan toby - Canthigaster papua
Roundbelly Cowfish - Lactoria diaphana
Longhorn cowfish, Horned boxfish - Lactoria cornuta
And this is their close cousin - the pufferfish.
Flatfish (Carpet Sole) is a master of disguise.
Cornetfishes are hiding between the pillars of the pier..
Cornetfish - Aulostomidae
Striped blennys make their nests in bottles and fragments of pipes..
Striped blenny - Meiacanthus grammistes
There are a lot of interesting things here. But at night you should be very careful, because there are many scorpionfish here, a variety of them, and there is a danger to run into their poisonous spines.
Lionfish Parapterois heterura
Scorpionfish Inimicus sp.
Cockatoo waspfish - Ablabys taenianotus
Stonefish - Synanceia verrucosa
Flying gurnard, Trigla - Dactylopterus volitans
And yet there are very big and various frogfish (Antennariidae), also named as sea devils. Strange creatures with the leg-fishing-rod on the head..
And here you can meet octopus, various types of them and quite large. Well, if fisherman will not catch them all before you arrive.. :-)
Marbled octopus - Octopus aegina
Red Octopus - Enteroctopus dofleini or Octopus rubescens
And special luck to find here a large flock of sardines swirling around the pillars of the pier. This is a cosmic show!
Watch our movie about diving in this unique place:
< episode 30 |
episode 32 > |