Gnathophyllum americanum Guérin-Méneville, 1855
10mm

We saw only a couple of these little Gnathophyllum americanum at Anilao. They seem more common in our usual dive sites in the Marshall Islands.

On a dive at the sometimes crowded Mato Point, I came across a group of divers huddled around a white thing on the sand. After they moved on, I eased over to take a look, and found a single Gnathophyllum inside the empty broken chicken egg shell. I suspect it had been captured in the shell, someone's discarded lunch remains, and moved onto the sand so people could photograph it without it running away to hide. I moved the egg shell and shrimp back to the wall.

Created 21 October 2021

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