Mating Mimics - Lembeh

Had a typically excellent dive today in Lembeh Strait (well near but not in the Strait, to be accurate, it is a site that most of the resorts do not go to) which was a nice send off from Lembeh Resort for my group before we head to the Seven Seas in Raja Ampat.

In addition to seeing hairy frog, ambons, flambos x2, seahorses etc at the site, the highlight was this pair of mating mimics (showing behaviour exactly as Andrea and Antonella Ferrari described a few years ago, with the smaller male riding on top).

Of course some observers might consider this to be an impression - but it was definitely mating!

The final embrace was quite similar to that which I photographed in Caribbean long arm octopus last year before the Wetpixel Shark trip:

Alex

Cool stuff Mister! We ever having beer or what?

Great shots Alex. I thought I was lucky when I saw a pair of them a few years ago at PJ, but to catch them in the act, now that's something special.

I think they were just mimicing the way long arm octo mates

great capture!

Cor Blimey! That's pretty raunchy stuff Alex!

You don't see that every day, thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

Jim

Awesome action shots, Alex.

You're a lucky guy...

Ed.

Alex, thanks alot for sharing these photos, this must have been great to see, and of course you captured it well. The mimic has been evading me for some time now.

So what lens did you have on at the time? I'm guessing you had to back up a little bit to get the entire scene in the frame?

Scot

Very cool action Alex. The luck is with you!

Rand

Outstanding Alex!

Thanks for sharing!

Great shot, Alex! That's got to rank way up there on Behavior Shots.

Wish I'd been able to get that kind of shot when I was in Lembeh last fall, but, alas, mine is just an ordinary shot of only one Mimic. Sigh.

Very cool that you got a nice send off from Lembeh Resort, too!

Thanks for sharing.

Ellen

Wonderful photos Alex - appreciate you sharing them with us all.

Thanks all. Obviously this type of image does not require much skill to take - just a case of being in the right place at the right time. But I am rather glad I was.

Taken with the Nikon D700 + 60mm AFS lens. F10-F13 (depending on the shots) 1/60th. Light 2x Inon Z240s with Lee 444 gels. Thankfully the 60mm is a reasonably wide lens on an FX sensor

Alex

Alex, Nice stuff Thanks. I'm glad you posted them. I was about to post these pix of what I think are pygmy cuttlefish mating taken at Wakatobi. They went into a hole in the coral after this and never saw them finish. If there's any one out there familiar with their behavior, I'd love to know if they are in fact mating or just pals. Thanks, Andy

Taken with the Nikon D700 + 60mm AFS lens. F10-F13 (depending on the shots) 1/60th. Light 2x Inon Z240s with Lee 444 gels. Thankfully the 60mm is a reasonably wide lens on an FX sensor

Alex

Alex,

Well Done! As usual, your karma is in good standing!

Very cool and thanks for showing us. I agree about the 60mm on FX with mating octos; I ran into that problem when I had the 60mm on at BHB last year (on my d200). I wished I had something a little wider, but not as wide as the Tokina FE that was my only other option. Plus, the common octopus couple I was photographing were together (mating) for nearly a week, and they are bigger than mimics - your 60mm on FX shown here would have been better.

Still, your must admit, photographing crafty octos during "heated" and "targeted" behaviors, certainly, keeps one's attention rapt! (I don't think my post here crossed into the dreaded NWS territory...., at least I tried to be discreet)....

Thanks and good luck, Carol

Very nice capture, and a good range of critters there.

What was the name of this site? I'm in the area at the moment, and after travelling all this way would love to take a chance on seeing a Hairy FF

Had a typically excellent dive today in Lembeh Strait (well near but not in the Strait, to be accurate, it is a site that most of the resorts do not go to) which was a nice send off from Lembeh Resort for my group before we head to the Seven Seas in Raja Ampat.

 

 

 

Alex

what a boring life you lead Alex, are you sure you dont want to swap jobs for like a year or two.

Have fun in RA and looking forward to seeing more outstanding shots

stew

Alex,

Great set of images, always pays to be in the right spot at the right time and with the right lens!

Andy,

Cuttlefish mate head to head with their tenacles locked together. This could be part of a mating behaviour, in the mating behaviour I have seen in the similar sized mourning cuttlefish from Australia, the male usually displays for the female and warn off other males. Did you see any colour flashes or patterning?

Regards

Nigel

good to see Mike had the locals put on a show