Crustaceans (literally "with shells") are a large group of mostly aquatic invertebrates, including shrimp, crabs, and lobsters. Our first dive site at Akumel was called Lobster Condos but they warned us we probably wouldn't see any lobsters. Of course, that meant we saw a number of them, both on that dive and on other dives. Most of them were Caribbean Spiny Lobsters. If you see a live lobster up close they really are bizarre looking creatures. (Crustaceans are a kind of Arthropod, as are insects and spiders. Think about that next time you're eating lobster.)
On our deeper dives we saw more barrel sponges. I always like to look inside them. Usually there's nothing there, but occasionally something will be hiding inside. I poked my head over the top of this one and was a bit surprised to have a big lobster waving its antennae at me.
The other kind of lobster we saw were the Spotted Spiny Lobsters. They were smaller but I liked their coloring.
We saw Banded Coral Shrimp a few times but they tend to hide in places where they are hard to photograph. All you see are their antennae poking out. Pederson Cleaner Shrimp are often together with Corkscrew Anemones. Like with clownfish, the anemone protects the shrimp and in return the shrimp's waste is a source of food to the anemone.
I just happened to see this Yellowline Arrow Crab move when I went by. Otherwise I wouldn't have spotted it.
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