Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
As I swam slowly closer to the fl amboyant cuttlefi sh, our gazes met briefl y
across an immense evolutionary divide. I formed an image of the cuttlefi sh at
the same time as it formed a much sharper image of me. We regarded each
other through eye lenses that, like our retinas, were also constructed through
dif erent developmental pathways even though they have converged on sim-
ilar structures. Starting with the simple eyes of our remote ancestor, the eyes
of cuttlefi sh and humans have diverged and then converged again to provide
this moment of mutual regard.
On another part of the fl ats I glimpsed for a moment the most talented of
the local mollusks, the mimic octopus. This octopus, fast-moving and swift-
burrowing, is a master of disguise, the Scarlet Pimpernel of the underwater
world. As it fl ashed past me and disappeared, its arms were striped black and
white, like a writhing collection of convict eels or sea snakes. Depending on
the threat that it must defend against, this octopus can turn itself into a pass-
able imitation of a lionfi sh, a sting ray, or a mantis shrimp. It can also imitate
the movements of these dangerous predators. If all else fails, this molluskan
changeling can transform itself into a clump of innocuous-looking brown
seaweed. 9
The mimic octopus accomplishes these feats by changing the color, pat-
tern, and surface texture of its arms and body, just as the cuttlefi sh we met at
the beginning of this chapter was able to transform itself into a good imita-
tion of a clump of coral.
As I swam in a haze of delighted astonishment around the sandy bottom
at Lembeh, I realized that it is an ideal place to explore the animal family tree.
Most scuba divers in the tropics explore coral reefs, not gray muddy sea bot-
toms. These divers swim among a range of creatures as diverse as those at
Lembeh, but many of them may remain invisible because there are so many
places to hide in a coral reef. Here on the volcanic sand bottom of Lembeh,
in the space of a dozen dives, I was able to contemplate a sampling of the full
range of native exotic creatures, often observing and photographing their
behaviors for minutes at a time.
Diving at Lembeh and at similar areas in Indonesia and Papua New
Guinea is a relatively new activity, dating back only to the 1980s. Australian
divers were the fi rst to venture into these apparently unpromising shallow
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search