Davao: Rhinopias Capital

posted on Friday, September 22, 2017

It was in July 2015 that I’ve seen my first ever Rhinopias in Anilao, Batangas. It wasn’t an easy find then. Fast-forward two years later, September 2017 in Davao, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I have never seen so many Rhinopias in just one dive site.

We allotted 2 out of our 5 dives with Carabao Dive Center in the K-5 dive site in Samal Island. Though quite costly by boat at P4,500/day, the almost two-hour boat ride was worth it. Boat rate can get cheaper if there are more divers in a group.

Ling and I were guided by freelance dive instructor, East Pardillo and Jay from Carabao Dive Center. The first kind of Rhinopias shown to us was the paddle-flap. At around 60-70 feet, I was shown the purple Rhinopias Frondosa in its full spectacle. It was quite overwhelming to see these marvels without much difficulty. We didn’t even encounter strong current. ;S

The highlight of our K-5 dives was the near-yellow Rhinopias that East was able to spot. He described seeing it in its juvenile stage a week before. The Rhinopias, as we saw it, was noticeably changing color---from (pinkish) red to yellow. Also tried using my newly-bought 1000 lumens Orca torch during our dives. Thanks East for the help (in lighting)!

In total, I’ve seen 4 Rhinopias in 3 out of our 5 dives in Davao. The other one I saw during our dive in Talicud Island's Babusanta dive site. For me, there is no question that Davao is RP’s Rhinopias Capital.

Davao Frogfish

Davao Nudibranch 10

Davao Nudibranch 11

Davao Nudibranch 12

Davao Nudibranch 13

Davao Nudibranch 14

Davao Nudibranch 15

Davao Nudibranch 9

Davao Paddle Flap Rhinopias 2

Davao Paddle Flap Rhinopias 3

Davao Rhinopias 1

Davao Rhinopias 2

Davao Rhinopias 3

Davao Rhinopias 4

Davao Rhinopias 5

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa 1

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa 2

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa 3

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa 4

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa 5

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa 6

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa 7

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa 8

Davao Rhinopias Frondosa

Davao Ribbon Eel

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About Mona

Certified as a PADI rescue diver. Got my first compact camera in 2011. I was simply content then to just capture a glimpse of what I see during my dives. It was only last February 2014 that I fully maximized the use of manual macro settings.

My camera skills and knowledge are still a work in progress. Enjoy browsin’!

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