Image © Cindy Abgarian

SARON SHRIMP

I had seen photographs of these bizarre, but strikingly beautiful shrimp displayed in magazines and in Indonesian dive shops. It wasn’t until doing some pre-trip marine critter research that I discovered that they are not commonly seen. Due to the fact I really enjoy finding and photographing crustaceans, this was a much sought after image for me. I had found one last year in Lembeh, but the one image I got left much to be desired.

 I had entered the water of our night dive at Manukang, off Suanggi Island, with a bit of disappointment. Our muck dives had revealed such a vast display of strange and intriguing marine critters, and now for a change we were doing a reef night dive. So, as opposed to looking for the bits of color and movement across a rather barren, dark muck landscape, we were being faced with prowling the healthy reefs in search of our subjects. Critters in the coral had the advantage of being able to find numerous ways and means to escape our night time torches.  Navigation is also a bit more difficult in unknown territory. That being said, I decided to stick fairly close to the DM Made, hoping that his younger eyes, and familiarity with the terrain, might yield better results. More life for me to photograph and better chances of finding the boat, I figured.
 
As he scoped out the reefs in front of me, he paused a short distance ahead, motioning me with the circling of his flashlight beam that he wanted my attention to something he had found. Moving my way over to him, I continued to light up the nooks and crannies along the way, afraid of bypassing a special find.  It’s like shopping - sure you know what’s in  Store C, but since you have to pass stores A and B to get there, might as well take the time to check out the stuff on the way.  And so, just before I reached Made and the lobster he had found, not even a single kick away, my beam lit up a Saron Shrimp. Recognized by its long curved rostrum, the row of bristles on its back (not to mention outstanding coloration) it was sitting perched atop some coral. As I frantically got Made’s attention by yelling into my regulator, I moved in an attempt to photograph the beauty before it disappeared from sight. As my shutter and strobe went off, he (males having the longer front legs than females of the species) began to move back down into the confines of the lettuce looking coral. I follow him with every beam of light I have on my rig, snapping frantically, as Rev would say, until my fingers bled. All of sudden there was additional movement below him, OMG!  There are more - 3 more!  Yes, flash, click, click, click, firing madly.  Between shots, I was trying to roust other nearby divers’ attention to share the discovery, meanwhile carefully corralling the shrimp from scurrying off to parts unknown.

 It wasn’t until the return home and seeing the photo media on the computer screen that I saw the behavior that was going on under our noses that night. The one female I had chosen to stay with to photograph had been in the process of molting her shell. This is a behavior I had witnessed once previously, with an Arrow Crab, while diving Turtle Reef on Grand Cayman. Along with the fact that this particular species of Saron Shrimp has yet to be named, I was alerted to a photo tip - they will usually retreat from direct light. I can definitely confirm that.

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