Evening diver movies ‘photographer’s nightmare’ on Borneo reef

An underwater photographer has shared fascinating footage of a tiny creature so small that it’s virtually inconceivable to see: a bushy shrimp (Phycocaris simulans). 

“Barely the size of a grain of rice, this 1–5mm creature is almost impossible to see, earning it a notorious reputation among macro photographers as the ‘photographer’s nightmare’,” says dive teacher and photographer Teong Chye Goh when sharing the footage on Instagram. 

Goh and his colleague Basri Bin Basir had deliberate an evening dive below the Seaventures home reef in Borneo’s Sipadan to attempt to discover a strange-looking fish referred to as a seamoth, he advised BBC Wildlife through electronic mail. 

“Basri suddenly signalled me and shone his torch on what looked like nothing more than a speck of dust drifting in the water,” he says. 

Squinting on the spot, he couldn’t see a factor at first. Then, he realised he was taking a look at a teeny, tiny bushy shrimp. In the video, the unusual crimson creature is buffeted this manner and that within the water, as if mimicking the rolling gait of a sailor on a ship. 

The shrimps delicate physique appears to be manufactured from tiny crimson threads, intricately woven collectively. 

It moved with “sudden, erratic hops, like a flea suspended in water,” he provides on Instagram. “When it pauses, it adopts a curious posture, tail raised high, forming a silhouette reminiscent of a swan resting on the seabed.”

Focusing the digital camera on this minuscule, wobbly creature was an enormous problem. “The shrimp kept bouncing around unpredictably, testing my patience and skill as I tried to capture a steady shot,” Goh says. “Every time I thought I had it framed, it darted off again.”

Yet, he persevered till he managed to seize footage he was pleased with, saying: “That challenge made the final footage even more rewarding, because it reflects not just the beauty of the animal but also the persistence required to reveal it.”

Most individuals won’t ever see these tiny, lovable animals – and in the event that they swim by them, many wouldn’t even discover them. 

“The hairy shrimp remains a true ‘holy grail’ of the underwater world,” provides Goh on Instagram.

Image and video credit score: Teong Chye Goh & Seaventures Dive Rig

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