Rhinopias - Lembeh Straigt, Indonesia

[scubadawg]

Rhinopias — a genus of scorpionfish with a lot of flair — is an exotic species that’s prised by divers, who travel thousands of miles in hopes of encountering them.

Genus: Scorpaenidae
Rhinopias are members of the scorpionfish family or Scorpaenidae, which now contains five species: Rhinopias eschmeyeri (paddle flap), aphanes (merlets), frondosa (weedy), xenops (bug eye) and argoliba (Japanese). While most scorpionfish can be found globally, the Rhinopias are very bio-geographically specific to Southeast Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and more recently, Hawaii, and Okinawa, Japan. The diverse locations and small numbers of this amazing creature add to the mystique and difficulty of seeing them in nature, pushing them to the top of the Holy Grail list for divers, underwater photographers, and marine biologists.

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/scubadawg/Facebook/Rhinopias/577268_10153131022540251_200832430_n.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/scubadawg/media/Facebook/Rhinopias/577268_10153131022540251_200832430_n.jpg.html)

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/scubadawg/Facebook/Rhinopias/1233331_10153131021145251_45471706_n.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/scubadawg/media/Facebook/Rhinopias/1233331_10153131021145251_45471706_n.jpg.html)

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/scubadawg/Facebook/Rhinopias/559206_10153131019450251_1064041406_n.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/scubadawg/media/Facebook/Rhinopias/559206_10153131019450251_1064041406_n.jpg.html)

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/scubadawg/Facebook/Rhinopias/526511_10153131019080251_32675657_n.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/scubadawg/media/Facebook/Rhinopias/526511_10153131019080251_32675657_n.jpg.html)

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/scubadawg/Facebook/Rhinopias/1005468_10153131015275251_1427960536_n.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/scubadawg/media/Facebook/Rhinopias/1005468_10153131015275251_1427960536_n.jpg.html)

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/scubadawg/Facebook/Rhinopias/1157628_10153131013450251_579495162_n.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/scubadawg/media/Facebook/Rhinopias/1157628_10153131013450251_579495162_n.jpg.html)

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/scubadawg/Facebook/Rhinopias/1151069_10153131013215251_1306606231_n.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/scubadawg/media/Facebook/Rhinopias/1151069_10153131013215251_1306606231_n.jpg.html)

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http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/scubadawg/Facebook/Rhinopias/537881_10153131009935251_1481866784_n.jpg (http://s1048.photobucket.com/user/scubadawg/media/Facebook/Rhinopias/537881_10153131009935251_1481866784_n.jpg.html)

[noirsphynx]

Very cool Yung! It looks like it's wearing a moustache :lol:

[Alberta-newb]

Great pictures and fascinating fish. Thanks for sharing! Was this a recent dive?

Francis

[Delphinus]

Cool! How deep were you for these?

[scubadawg]

I was in Bunaken for a few days, then went to Lembeh Straigt, Left Edmonton Aug 24 back on Aug 27. It was a group of 12 divers from Edmonton.

Did a total of 28 dives, including some night dives, deepest dives was 101 ft.

The dive with the Rhinopias was 84 ft deep. The dive guide, informed our group of 3, that was the first time in 4 years, since he seen a Rhinopias. that is how rare to see one:) Great luck that was the first dive in Lembeh, saw blue ring octopus on the same dive. Wish I would have taken more photos.

Average dives were about 60-70 ft deep.

I was diving Nitrox, otherwise I would have went into Deco right away.
One dive my friend and myself were videoing and photographing an Algae Octopus at about 65 ft deep for over 30 min.

Will post photos, of Blue ring, coconut, Algae, Wonderpus, and other Octopus amd Nudis, Cuttlefish, when I get a chance.