mixed bag (Belize & Indo-Pacific)

folks,

Got a mixed bag of critters I haven't been able to track down. Any help, even family name, would be appreciated.

(1) I looked through Debelius a couple of times but amazingly I couldn't place this lobster from Belize, I know it must be in there:

(2) Moray from Phuket, not much to go on unfortunately. If you can name the shrimp then that would be a huge bonus too!

(3) I always find giant clams hard to pin down to species, this one is from the Perhentian Islands off Malaysia:

(4) Cuttlefish, Anilao, Philippines:

(5) Squid, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia:

(6) Unfortunate four-armed sea star, Phuket:

(7) crinoid, Phuket:

If it would help to have any of these in a larger size then let me know and I'll upload it.

TIA,

Richard.

Hi Richard,

I'll help with the easy one. Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus

Steve

Moray looks like a (small) giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) with a clear cleaner shrimp (Urocaridella antonbruunii).

Clam may be a giant squamose clam (Tridacna squamosa) but I'm not sure.

Cuttlefish may be broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) but I'm not sure.

I hardly dare try the squid after last time but I would probably put it under Sepioteuthis lessoniana.

The sea star looks like Linckia multifora.

Crinoid may be Comanthina nobilis but I found similar looking yellow crinoids given other names.

Hi Richard,

I'll help with the easy one. Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus

 

Steve

Steve,

Thanks!

I was focused on the color patterns along the tail, which don't appear in the photos in Debelius, but I can see now that the head is a perfect match.

Richard.

Moray looks like a (small) giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) with a clear cleaner shrimp (Urocaridella antonbruunii).

 

Clam may be a giant squamose clam (Tridacna squamosa) but I'm not sure.

 

Cuttlefish may be broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) but I'm not sure.

 

I hardly dare try the squid after last time but I would probably put it under Sepioteuthis lessoniana.

 

The sea star looks like Linckia multifora.

 

Crinoid may be Comanthina nobilis but I found similar looking yellow crinoids given other names.

Nick,

Thanks, that's a big help.

The moray seems to have so few distinctive features, I thought it might be unplaceable. I'm particularly glad it's Gymnothorax javanicus, I had just been doing a writeup about that species and now I have a photo to illustrate it!

After going through Poppe Images I had considered Linckia multifora to be the likeliest candidate for the sea star, but there's so much color variability that I was reluctant to go with that.

Can anyone else can confirm the clam and the cuttlefish?

Richard.

The clam is a T Maxima - which look similar to the squamosa but have a very characteristic look.

Cheers

James

The clam is a T Maxima - which look similar to the squamosa but have a very characteristic look.

 

Cheers

James

James,

Thanks!

Richard.