This blackwater photography image, taken in Anilao, showcases a larval-stage lobster floating in the open ocean. The lobster is nearly transparent, with a delicate, elongated body and intricate appendages. Its segmented exoskeleton reveals an internal orange-hued organ, possibly its digestive system. One of its most striking features is its large, reflective eye, which gleams against the pitch-black background. The lobster’s delicate legs and swimmerets extend outward, highlighting the fragility of this early life stage. The photograph beautifully captures the ethereal and otherworldly nature of marine larvae in the open water. Copyright Gregory Rothman 2024

Went on a blackwater dive.
Saw a Speck.
Looked Closer.
It wasn’t a Speck!
It was a Lobsta.
Larval Lobsta!
Oohah

A late larval lobster. I assume close to settling. Earlier larval stages look likeflat spiders.

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