critter id help

[zahner]

not sure if this belongs here or in the UW Photography forum, but anyways....

I photographed this tiny critter a few weeks ago off Maui and can't positively id it. My best guess is some sort of squat lobster. It was at the St Anthony at night at about 60'. any ideas?

thanks

Terence

 

[donnyb]

most likely a long-handed spiny lobster, Justitia longimanus.
Hard to tell from this photo

 

[KrisB]

any other shots?

 

[justleesa]

Yeah, it's really hard to see in that picture - but my guess, looking at the one in Hoovers book, would also be a squat Lobster.

 

[zahner]

unfortunately I only got one shot, it did not like light. I found it by hunting around with red light but once the strobe went off, it retreated too far back into the dead coral head. I've attached another version of the same shot. the whole critter was maybe the size of a dime or smaller.

 

[justleesa]

the mouth area looks right. Did you get a close enough look to say if it had a 5th pair of legs under the cararpace?

In the book it says Hawaiian species of the Squat Lobster is small and inconspicuous, which would mean it is endemic and different than the ones you might see in the Indo-pacific.

 

[Walter]

Lisa, I'm impressed that you can say, "the mouth area looks right." I can't even see the critter at all.

 

[HowardE]

Lisa, I'm impressed that you can say, "the mouth area looks right." I can't even see the critter at all.

just below and just left of center. It's red.

 

[DiveMaven]

Whatever he is, he's really cool!! Good eyes and great find!

 

[zahner]

the mouth area looks right. Did you get a close enough look to say if it had a 5th pair of legs under the cararpace?

In the book it says Hawaiian species of the Squat Lobster is small and inconspicuous, which would mean it is endemic and different than the ones you might see in the Indo-pacific.

alas, this picture is the best look I got, so I couldn't say if it had a 5th pair. it was certainly small and inconspicuous.