^^ Cute little Green Clinging Crab (Mithraculus sculptus), about 1/2″
The Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama is a natural, unspoiled beauty, located in the far southern Caribbean Sea, safely tucked away from hurricanes. In late November, I was lucky enough to stay a couple weeks with close friends who have retired there to live the good life. And a good life it is – we saw lots of cool stuff on our diving and snorkeling adventures.
To start us off, the Lettuce Slug (Elysia crispata) is a common critter in much of the Caribbean, but the ones in the waters around Bocas were the largest I think I’ve seen anywhere. We found several while snorkeling in maybe 5′ of water right in front of my friends’ house, including this gorgeous example, about 2″ long:
Next up, a type of toadfish that is somewhat rare, the Sapo Bocon (Amphichthys cryptocentrus). Truly a face only a mother could love – or an underwater photography geek like myself. One must approach them stealthily, for they are quite shy, hiding in recesses with only their head poking out. They will disappear with no warning if you get too close, and for these guys, too close is defined as not very close at all. This is the best shot I could get of one:
Cute, no?
In the shallow waters in front of my friends’ home, we also saw several Sand Divers (Synodus intermedius), who like to perch on coral and pretend that you can’t see them:
And finally, one of my favorites, the Yellowline Arrow Crab (Stenorhynchus seticornis). This one is facing away from the camera, giving us a good profile view:
See the gallery below for a few more of my favorites:
