INDONESIA
GL BAL TREASURE
Kingdom
t
Lembeh Strait
f the World’s Strangest Critters
wo American ladies went on
a cruise with Billy Martindaz,
aka the Elvis of North Sulawesi.
present. The assemblage of “out of the ordinary” creatures at Lembeh
They fell in love with North Sulawesi, and leased
scorpionfish (Rhinopias frodosa) are often found. Seahorses (pygmy
a plot of land on Kungkungan Bay, to develop a
and others) are numerous and the Pegasus, ghost pipefish and the
resort for their American friends. They handed over
endemic Banggai cardinalfish are also prolific.
is impressive: Ambon scorpionfish (Pteroidichthys amboinensis),
stonefish, sea robins, stargazers, devilfish and even the weedy
the ‘fun’ part of the game plan to one of their sons, Mark Ecenbarger.
(oversee the construction) Mark got bored with the contractors and
Nowhere else in the world exists an array of weird and wonderful
went diving around the bay. He found living jewels among the black
critters in such variety and density. By comparison, at Milne Bay
sand and the rest as they say, is history. I first explored Lembeh Strait
in Papua New Guinea, you may sometimes find the mimic
with Mark one morning in 1993 and was immediately obsessed.
octopus, frogfish or pygmy seahorse, and at other times,
you may find a harlequin shrimp, ghost pipefish, skeleton
Between the northern tip of the North Sulawesi peninsula and Lembeh
shrimp and weedy scorpionfish (the Holy Grail of fish),
Island, lies a 16-kilometre long strait. By now, there are over 45 sites
but it would be most unusual to find all of these weirdoes
for observing a rich array of marine critters, found on rocky patch reefs
and oddballs at the same time. However, on my last visit
but mostly on black sandy slopes. This is a universe of the weird and
to Lembeh Strait with Benny Sarindah of Lembeh Hills
wonderful. Expanses of reefs are found in a few spots in the northern
Resort, I saw them all in just two-and-a-half days!
end of the strait where soft corals, sea fans and hard coral coverage
Serious naturalists and photographers should bring
are prolific. Critters such as the mimic octopus, wonderpus, coconut
along a ‘shopping’ list when visiting Lembeh
octopus, hairy frogfish, flamboyant cuttlefish, harlequin shrimp, blue
Strait. In most cases, wishes are 100
ring octopus, bumble bee shrimp and skeleton shrimp are predictably
percent fulfilled with bonus!
Tango in the Dark
Flamboyant cuttlefish ( Metasepia pfefferi )
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