Marine life of Maeda point | Okinawa Nature Photography

Scorpionfish, lionfish and stonefish all belong to the family Scorpaenidae. They all are well camouflaged and highly venomous. Their defensive spines can deliver a painful sting. It’s best to wear exposure protection and maintain good bouncy control to avoid getting envenomated by these ambush predators.

In the 1980’s Robert Bolland stumbled upon an interesting underwater find. He found a tiny undescribed isopod hitching a ride on a scorpionfish. 1984 the parasitic isopod Renocila bollandi from Okinawa was named after him.

Over the years I photographed a dozen of these orange Isopods (Renocilla bollandi)

I have always wondered,

What is the relationship between the two?
Is the relationship mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism?
Why does the isopod only prefer venomous fish (scorpionfish) as its host?
Why does the isopod always stay close to the eye?

See why they call it the bearded scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis cirrhosa).

Learn more about the hazardous marine life of Okinawa.

Learn more about Robert Bolland and his research at The Okinawa Slug Site.

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

This site is also designed to help people identify the beautiful animals of Okinawa, basically to serve as an online nature reference guide. If you would like to make a contribution to support my mission, please click on the donation link paypal.me/maketheswitch4nature

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

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Gall crabs are coral-dwelling crabs that spend their entire life living inside a hole of the hard coral. These micro crabs are only 7mm-10mm in size. They are hard to find and photograph due to their small size.

Gall crab in Favia Coral © Shawn Miller

These tiny crabs are considered to be safe keepers or guardians of the hard coral. The gall crabs defend against coral eating predators such as starfish and snails. The coral provides shelter and food, making it an ideal habitat for the micro coral-dwelling gall crab. I have found these crabs in a variety of coral species in Okinawa. They are usually found in shallow water corals, but recently I found a healthy colony of crabs at sixty-five feet.

Gall crab claws out © Shawn Miller

Large algae covered gall crab © Shawn Miller

Gall crab closeup © Shawn Miller

If you’re lucky you might see a gall crab searching for food during the night.

Unidentified gall crab © Shawn Miller

Gall crab searching for food © Shawn Miller

Unidentified gall crab © Shawn Miller

The only reason I found this beauty was because she was leaving the gall to release her eggs.

Some of the gall crabs fluoresce using the specialized Light & Motion Nightsea underwater blue light.

After the crabs die, the galls become a new shelter opportunity for snails, fish, and reef crabs.

Bicolor blenny in coral - fish of okinawa

I found this hard coral washed up on Iheya Island. Look close and you can see that hole made by the gall crab.

Stony coral and gall

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Okinawa Nature Photography

沖縄自然写真 By Shawn Miller

Tag Archives: Marine life of Maeda point

Parasitic Isopods of the Ryukyu Islands

Gall Crabs – Coral-Inhabiting Micro Crabs of Okinawa