418 Dive Log Australasia JUNE 2026.pdf

hope that we modern day marine explorers can raise the consciousness of the human race and save the seas for future generations to enjoy. Lembeh Straits is right on the Wallace line. This deep-water boundary separated animals from the Malaysian archipelago and the Australasian landmasses. However, there is no Wallace line under the sea. The geographical barrier that is deep water is irrelevant in the sea for most creatures. They can easily swim past it or ride the currents to the Indian or Pacific Ocean. I marvel at species of fish and sea slugs from Lembeh that are not uncommon in Australian waters, right here in Sydney. The list includes Cornet fish, Frog Fish, Aeolid sea slugs, Coral Banded Shrimps, Butterfly fish and many more. Recently, we have been photographing Convict Gobies, Priolepis sp. right here in Sydney, a few kilometres from my home. I had delighted in discovering these beauties in Lembeh just weeks before.

The easiest fish to photograph is ones that sit still

I regard Lembeh Straights as a natural ‘Noah’s Ark’. All manner of marine life reside here in a condensed version of the best that South East Asia has to offer. It is like an underwater zoo, filled with an incredible biodiversity of marine life.

Convict Gobies from Lembeh .

67

Dive Log Australasia #418 June ’26

www.divelog.net.au