Mucky Secrets - Part 13 - Benthic fishes, stargazer, flounder, flathead - Lembeh Strait

Benthic fishes including stargazers, flounders and flatheads. Part 13 of my documentary, "Mucky Secrets", about the fascinating marine creatures of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Watch the full 90-minute documentary at • Mucky Secrets (full) -...
After a quick look at the panther grouper, Cromileptes altivelis, also known as the humpback grouper or barramundi cod, I explore demersal fishes, those that live on or near the seabed. Of these, benthic fishes actually rest on the sea floor.
The whitemargin stargazer, Uranoscopus sulphureus, spends most of its time buried in the substrate, with only its upper, or dorsal, surface exposed, where its eyes and mouth are located. Like frogfishes, stargazers are ambush predators. They have a worm-like lure that extends from the upturned mouth to attract fish that pass overhead. Stargazers are also equipped with poisonous spines at the rear of the operculum, the gill cover. The papillae fringing the mouth help stop sand from falling in when the fish is buried.
The leopard flounder, Bothus pantherinus, has adapted to life on the bottom with a superb camouflage. Such lefteye flounders are symmetrical and swim upright like other fishes when young. As they develop, the eye on the right side migrates to the left, thus enabling them to lie flat on the bottom. Their eye stalks can be retracted for protection, but enhance their view when extended.
Flatheads also have excellent camouflage and a stealthy, low profile, but unlike flounders, they are dorsally compressed and remain symmetrical. They are also ambush predators, and often hide by burying much of their body in the substrate. Flatheads are related to scorpionfishes and have short, venomous spines on top of their head.
We meet a Japanese flathead (Inegocia japonica), a black-banded flathead (Rogadius patriciae), and finally a pair of spiny flatheads (Onigocia spinosa) at Retak Larry, a classic, dark sand muck diving site named after the late Lembeh pioneer, Larry Smith.
There are English captions showing either the full narration or the common and scientific names of the marine life, along with the dive site names.
The full Mucky Secrets nature documentary features a huge diversity of weird and wonderful marine animals including frogfish, nudibranchs, scorpionfish, crabs, shrimps, moray eels, seahorses, octopus, cuttlefish etc..
Thanks to Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com for the music tracks, "Hidden Agenda" and "Lightless Dawn". These tracks are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Thanks to the staff and keen-eyed divemasters of Two Fish Divers (www.twofishdivers.com), for accommodation, diving services and critter-spotting.
The video was shot by Nick Hope with a Sony HVR-Z1P HDV camera in a Light & Motion Bluefin HD housing with Light & Motion Elite lights and a flat port. A Century +3.5 diopter was used for the most of the macro footage.
I have more scuba diving videos and underwater footage on my website at:
www.bubblevision.com
I post updates about my videos here:
/ bubblevision
google.com/+bubblevision
/ nicholashope
/ bubblevision
Full list of marine life and dive sites featured in this video:
00:00 Birdbeak Burrfish, Cyclichthys orbicularis, TK 2
00:04 Birdbeak Burrfish, Cyclichthys orbicularis, TK 3
00:10 Panther Grouper, Cromileptes altivelis, TK 3
00:29 Whitemargin Stargazer, Uranoscopus sulphureus, Hairball
00:55 Whitemargin Stargazer, Uranoscopus sulphureus, Retak Larry
01:13 Leopard Flounder, Bothus pantherinus, Retak Larry
01:44 Japanese Flathead, Inegocia japonica, Retak Larry
01:52 Black-banded Flathead, Rogadius patriciae, Makawide
02:28 Spiny Flathead, Onigocia spinosa, Retak Larryo:

[@cuppajoe1]

These are the critters in my nightmares. I love it. Wish this documentary never ends. It's fantastic.

[@bubblevision]

Thank you. There will be more after this one!

[@bubblevision]

Part 13 of my documentary, "Mucky Secrets", about the fascinating marine life of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia.
Lembeh is all about benthic critters - those that live in the muck on the sea bed. In this episode we study stargazers, flounders and flatheads. But first we meet a panther grouper and its polka dots.
#Lembeh #marinelife #underwater

[@charsbabushka]

Thank you for this documentary. I love them all.

[@bubblevision]

Part 14 is now live: Mucky Secrets - Part 14 - Scorpionfishes, Rhinopias, Lionfishes - Lembeh Strait

[@bubblevision]

The full 90-minute documentary is now online: Mucky Secrets (full) - The Marine Creatures of the Lembeh Strait

[@DWhatleyGA]

Nick, Love your closeups! I was aware of cephalopods' not round pupil (and some distinct shapes help ID some of the cuttlefish) but did not realize how many fish also have a distinctive shape.
I keep wanting to wait to watch the WHOLE series in one shot but keep viewing the shorts ;)

[@NickHope]

Thank you. Flatheads have amazing eye shapes, especially the crocodile fish. The full length documentary will be following eventually :)

[@alexandroskaminas]

D Whatley many fish have unique pupil shapes, locarid catfishes for example sport an omega iris

[@bubblevision]

The narration, the names of the dive sites, and the common and scientific names of the marine life are available in subtitles by clicking the button under the bottom right of the video.

[@VitoBertaudeau]

gracias y compartido

[@ommohamed1354]

سبحان الله وبحمده سبحان الله العظيم عدد ما خلق وملئ ما خلق وزنة ما خلق

[@ommohamed1354]

ويبقى وجه ربك ذو الجلال والإكرام
لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير

[@shefalijassi7411]

No#

[@sayedqaimudin6453]

BAD TRANSLATION CAPTIONS