Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
The land, the sea, and the humans cannot exist independently.
The unpolluted tropical ocean that is on the east of the Wallace Line
is a blessing in itself.
You can see clearly inside the beautiful underwater kingdom.
It is home to many different species of coral reefs and fish.
Sea Whip This coral reef takes on the form of a whip and waves about with the waves.
Sea Snake
The sea snake is the predator of the sea near the coral reefs.
It is the biggest predator thanks to its highly fatal venom.
The sea snake hunts for its prey near the submerged rocks.
The fish get scared and run away.
Threadfin Cardinalfish The coral cave is home to the threadfin cardinalfish.
The small and clear threadfin cardinalfish feasts on plankton.
They move with the current and eat plankton.
As soon as a predator appears,
the threadfin cardinalfish group moves quickly together.
Because such a big group quickly changes directions with the current,
even the swiftest predator can't keep up with them.
With giant wing-like fins,
Manta Ray the manta ray is a rare species that inhabit this area.
The average size of the manta ray is 6m.
The big ones are over 9m and weigh a ton.
Some fish form a symbiosis with the coral in order to hide from predators.
The scalefin anthias live in groups under the coral reef.
Scalefin Anthias In exchange for using the coral reef as their home,
they provide food for the coral with their excrement.
The female scalefin anthias has a reddish color.
One male lives with over 40 females as a group.
As soon as a predator comes near, they hide under the coral reef.
They come out to eat when the area is safe.
The scalefin anthias cannot live away from the coral reef.
Coral Polyp
Some fish live in the coral reef and eat coral polyp.
The panda butterfly fish has big brown spots.
Panda Butterfly Fish They only feed on the coral polyp.
The coral reef kingdom on the east of the Wallace Line
is not a home just for the predators.
Some organisms have chosen symbiosis.
When the surgeonfish group comes down to the coral reef,
Surgeonfish the cleaner wrasse gets busy.
The cleaner wrasse cleans the debris and parasites on the surgeonfish's body.
This is why the surgeonfish opens its gills to the cleaner wrasse.
Pinnatus Batfish The pinnatus batfish live in groups.
They are known for going through metamorphosis in the coral reef kingdom.
Young Pinnatus Batfish The pinnatus batfish looks like a bat because it has wing-shaped pectoral fins.
As they grow, the pectoral fins get smaller.
Adult Pinnatus Batfish The adult pinnatus batfish changes into a flat and round form.
They then live in groups.
If you enter the Lembeh Strait away from the coral reef
on the east of the Wallace Line,
you will see a completely different underwater world.
The underwater desert of the Lembeh was built by volcanic activity.
You will find many organisms that cannot be found near coral reefs.
Waspfish A leaf-like organism moves in the barren sand floor.
It's the waspfish. It even has eyes and fins.
In order to hide from its predators,
the waspfish disguises itself to look like a leaf.
Phantom Velvetfish The phantom velvetfish moves next to a piece of wood.
This species is only found in the Lembeh Strait.
With nowhere to hide in the underwater desert,
the phantom velvetfish has evolved to disguise itself as a piece of wood.
Sea Lily
There's an organism that disguises itself as a sea lily.
The ghost pipefish has evolved so that it can fool its predator.
Ghost Pipefish
The ghost pipefish couple floats like water plants and eats plankton.
The bigger one is the male.
In order to survive the vicious food chain of the underwater desert,
one must escape from predators.
The fish that cannot put on a disguise form a symbiosis
with the venomous sea anemone.
Yellow-tailed Anemone Fish
The yellow-tailed anemone fish
is not the only organism that forms a symbiosis with the sea anemone.
Many species of fish do so in order to protect themselves
with the venom of the sea anemone.
Yellow-tailed Anemone Fish Eggs
The yellow-tailed anemone fish spawns on the sea anemone
and continue to provide oxygen until the eggs hatch safely.
The fish that have chosen to evolve with the sea anemone
do not get into a territorial dispute.
In the coral reef, everyone avoids the sea anemone.
But the sea anemone plays an important role in the Lembeh Strait.
They are the pillar that supports the ecosystem of the underwater desert.
An organism disguises itself as a sea anemone.
Hairy Frogfish
It's the hairy frogfish, a master of disguise.
It hunts in a very unique way.
It attracts fish by holding bait on a lure on its fin.
The Morrison's dragonet falls for the hairy frogfish's trap.
When the hairy frogfish draws near,
the Morrison's dragonet realizes what's going on and runs away.
The hairy frogfish attempts to hunt again.
The Banggai cardinalfish falls for the trap.
This time, the hairy frogfish decides to be careful.
It sits still like the sea anemone
and waits until the food comes near its mouth.
The prey will most likely run away if he doesn't attack the head.
The hairy frogfish successfully snatches its prey.
Lumpfish The lumpfish crawls on the sand floor.
The lumpfish is a predator of the underwater desert.
It uses the stem that comes out from its fin like a claw.
It is slow but venomous.
Another fish backs away in fear after seeing the lumpfish.
Moth Fish
Many different fish have chosen to give up their fins to crawl on the sand floor.
They have evolved their fins to crawl because the sand floor has more food.
The ambon scorpionfish is also a predator of the sand floor.
Ambon Scorpionfish
The ambon scorpionfish is out for a hunt.
It disguises itself as a rock and waits for its prey.
The ambon scorpionfish waits for a chance to *** its prey's head.
The one with a curled tail is the female. A male follows her.
The ambon scorpionfish usually moves alone until mating season.
The male follows the female for courtship.
But the red female does not easily give into the male.
Instead, she shakes her fin and calls upon other males as well.
Another male is attracted by the female.
Tensions are high because of a new rival.
It is inevitable for the males to fight.
The males get ready to fight.
In order to win the female, one must win this ferocious battle.
The female does nothing but watch.
The fight isn't over until one backs off.
The female accepts the winner's courtship.
The ambon scorpionfish go home in order to pass on their genes.
Fan Coral
Some organisms live their entire lives on the fan coral.
It's the pygmy seahorse that is curled up on the coral branch.
Pygmy Seahorse
Only about 2cm tall,
the pygmy seahorse is too small for even some experts to find.
The pygmy seahorse disguises itself as a fan coral and feasts on planktons.
It is a master of disguise.
It has a lump on its back that looks like the coral polyp.
Its body is disguised like the coral branch.
Because of its excellent disguise,
it was discovered unexpectedly by a scientist who was studying fan corals.
Pontohi Pygmy Seahorse The Pontohi pygmy seahorse of the Lembeh is the smallest fish in the world.
Even as an adult, it is only about 1cm long.
The Pontohi pygmy seahorse was discovered in 2004.
Another new fish was discovered about 10m under water.
We found this creature in between the coral reef.
It's a thread-like thin fish that hangs its tail on the coral branch.
Lembeh Pygmy Pipe Dragon It's Lembeh pygmy pipe dragon. It is about 4cm long.
But if you look closely, you can see that it has eyes and fins.
It is a new species that has evolved into a middle stage in
between seahorses and pipefish.
The Lembeh pygmy pipe dragon also floats underwater like the pygmy seahorse.
It was first discovered in the Lembeh underground desert in 2007.
They haven't been found ever since,
but we caught them on film during this expedition.
Ewan / Marine ecology expert The Lembeh pygmy pipe dragon was not found before.
One diving guide found it a year ago in the Lembeh Strait.
The Korean team is the first to film it.