Yesterday, I featured an image of a large barrel sponge. Today I share an image of a Hairy Squat Lobster (Lauriea siagiani).
These things are quite tiny – about 3/4 inch across its carapace. They are pink in colour, and inhabit giant barrel sponges, which are also pink, so spotting them can be tough. Their colours only ‘pop’ when lit by a strobe or flashlight.
Like many crabs, they don’t appear to enjoy being photographed, and want to burrow in the sponge to evade camera-wielding paparazzi, so getting shots like these can be an exercise in frustration.
And why is it hairy, you might ask? Well, apparently these little lobsters use those filaments to snag fly-by tidbits to eat. Then they scrape them off with their claws, put them in their mouth, and consume them. Um, yum?
About Judy G Diver
Born and raised on the west coast of Canada, I have always felt a strong connection to the sea. But for many years, I stayed on the surface, afraid of what lurked down deep. When I was in my early 30's, with three young children (aka the P's), my husband (aka Mr G) signed us up for a SCUBA certification course, as a surprise. Although I had my fears, my stubbornness prevailed, and somehow I made it through four murky, frigid, cold water dives in Vancouver to successfully pass the course. Soon after we went diving off the west coast of Mexico, in the Sea of Cortez, where my eyes were opened to the beauty and other-worldliness of the life down under.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
I currently have well over 2000 dives under the belt, and I have been fortunate to travel and dive in Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Fiji, Palau, Philippines, Galapagos, Costa Rica, Hawaii, California, Egypt, Mexico, several islands in the Caribbean, and here in British Columbia.
In addition to this blog and my personal website (Awoosh.com/Directory), which is linked at the top of the blog, my stuff has been published in a variety of magazines and websites, including a regular monthly feature for Scubadiving Magazine for several years. All links to this work can be found in this blog.
